Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter
by Caitie
Summary: You-Know-Who is back and only two people can stop him; but are Rachel and Harry up to the challenge, and can Rachel live up to her destiny? Chapter 10 is new!
1. Graduation

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Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

  
Chapter One 

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MORWENNA MAGE   
_Headmistress of the Phoenix School of Elementary Magic_

Dear Rachel Witt,   
We are pleased to inform you that you show a great deal of magical abilities. If you so choose, you will be spending the next four years of your life as a student at our institution. Please reply with an owl by June 30. A list of supplies and information pertaining to our school will be sent via our school owls as soon as your admission is acknowledged.   
Sincerely,   
Morwenna Mage

Rachel could hardly stand the excitement. She was accepted at a magic school! She, Rachel Elizabeth Witt, the girl who, just last year, had shown no magic abilities whatsoever would be going to the Phoenix School of Elementary Magic (P.S.E.M.). This was the most prestigious school in all of New England. Only the most promising witches and wizards were let in. And not all of them graduated in their fourth year. Some wizards and witches had spent up to seven years just trying to master the standard four-year curriculum. Rachel just hoped that she would be able to keep up.

Her bags were packed and Rachel was ready to start her new life at P.S.E.M. She had purchased all of the necessary supplies that were on the list and she had even spent a little extra to buy an owl for herself. It was a snowy owl, but a very small one. Rachel had been able to buy her at half price because no one had wanted an owl that could only deliver letters. The owl, which Rachel had named Merlin, was only the size of a grapefruit.

Rachel's aunt and uncle had driven her to the school with her older sister, Morgan. Morgan was in her third year at P.S.E.M. and would soon graduate to another wizarding school to finish her seven-year education. Every wizard or witch has to be educated at one of the many schools. Every wizarding school is a seven-year school, except for one. P.S.E.M. teaches students for only four years. They learn more advanced techniques and twice as many spells, curses, jinxes, and incantations as students at other schools. After the four years, the students are accepted at a seven-year school and finish their education there. Morgan was hoping to be accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Aunt Megan, who was only thirty, had hugged both girls as they boarded the train to P.S.E.M. Rachel had felt a twinge of sadness as she and Morgan boarded the train to school. She wished that her parents would come back from Egypt. The Witts both worked for the Ministry of Magic and were always away on business. Rachel had known it was impossible for her parents to come back just for her first day of school. She couldn't ask them to do that. Rachel had boarded the train with Morgan and set off for her first year at the Phoenix School of Elementary Magic.

That was four years ago.

***

Rachel was standing on the stage in her royal blue graduation robes. Her long, chestnut hair billowed in the breeze and her cheeks were rosy as she stood in line, waiting for her certificate and the name of school where she would be going next. 

Earlier that year, Rachel sent applications to almost every wizarding school in New England. She also sent a few to Europe. The schools had all responded, sending owls not to Rachel herself, but to the administration at P.S.E.M. After the headmistress had received all of the letters, she placed them in an enchanted hearth. The letter that did not burn in the flames was from the school that Rachel would go to. Now, at the ceremony, Rachel would hear which schools she was accepted to and which school the hearth had chosen for her.

There were only two students left, not counting Rachel. She was the last in line. Her deep green eyes scanned the crowd and landed on Morgan, jet-black hair neatly piled on top of her head. Morgan was home from Durmstrang for summer break. Durmstrang let their students out two weeks before the other schools. However, Durmstrang students were expected to be at school three weeks earlier than most. Morgan looked pensive. Her pretty features were scrunched in a troubled frown. Rachel wondered why her sister would be so preoccupied. The ceremony couldn't be 

that thought-provoking.

Now it was Rachel's turn. Professor Mage stood in front of her, beaming. Rachel had always been Morwenna Mage's favorite student. Morwenna taught Transfiguration and as far as she could tell, Rachel was the most talented student she had ever taught. Professor Mage was amazed that Rachel seemed to show no signs of being an Animagus. Usually witches and wizards that were exceptional at Transfiguration became Animagi. However, Rachel hadn't shown this ability, which meant that she most likely would not become one.

The Professor made a long speech about Rachel's talents and the likelihood of her succeeding. She continued to talk about the opportunities that Rachel would have in the future. Finally, she handed Rachel a rolled piece of parchment. Rachel unrolled it and read the script.

This document certifies that Rachel Elizabeth Witt has completed four years at the Phoenix School of Elementary Magic and has passed every course with honors.

Professor Mage and all of the professors at P.S.E.M had signed the certificate in blue ink. Rachel looked up at Professor Mage and smiled. She had graduated. Now she would find out which school she would be spending the next three years of her life at. There was only one parchment scroll left in the wicker basket, which stood to the left of the professor. Rachel knew that scroll held her destiny. Slowly, Professor Mage reached into the basket and pulled out the scroll. Slowly, she pulled off the blue ribbon and slowly, she handed it to Rachel. Following suit, Rachel slowly unrolled the scroll. The parchment was now fully unrolled and in green ink, the words….

"HOGWARTS!" the scroll bellowed. Rachel jumped. She hadn't expected that, of course, if she had been paying attention to the other students, she would have known. The crowd applauded and Rachel saw Morgan smile. Rachel read the scroll in full now. Taking in every word.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL   
_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY 

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Rachel Elizabeth Witt,   
Congratulations, you have been accepted as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We await your owl by no later than July 31.   
Sincerely,   
Minerva McGonagall,   
Deputy Headmistress

Rachel walked off stage with the rest of her class and went towards her family. Only Aunt Megan and Morgan had made it. Rachel's parents were still in Egypt, ridding the country of evil. Rachel said one last goodbye to her teachers and friends as she packed Aunt Megan's car with all of her belongings. The trip home was long. Aunt Megan was grinning from ear to ear and saying to herself, "My baby got into Hogwarts!" Morgan talked to Rachel about the fun they would have that summer.

The first thing Rachel did when they arrived at home was to send Merlin with a note to Hogwarts. This was one opportunity she did not want to miss.


	2. The Hogwarts Express

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Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

  


Chapter Two 

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***

September 1 swiftly came about, leaving the summer far behind. Rachel's trunk was packed and she was ready to board the Hogwarts Express. Her Hogsmeade permission slip had been signed and now lay at the bottom of her oak trunk with the books and her supplies. She had made sure to secure important papers in the bottom compartment of the trunk, so that she would not lose them. She had heard somewhere that personal belongings had a strange way of disappearing if you weren't careful at Hogwarts.

Aunt Megan and Rachel had taken a portkey to get to the station. This particular portkey was only to be used one person at a time. It let out into a restroom in the station. They were both clothed in Muggle attire and were carrying one trunk and one covered cage with them. Megan had enchanted Rachel's trunk so that it was bottomless. Rachel could bring with her whatever she wanted without having to worry about the space. She had brought an extra set of robes to change into on the train. She wanted to blend in with the other children.

Rachel was the first to come out of the portkey, crashing onto the cold bathroom floor. Thankfully, she was not the one carrying her belongings. Aunt Megan was next, she had the owl's cage in one hand and the handle to Rachel's trunk in the other. She didn't crash to the floor, but merely seemed to float into the near-empty restroom. Rachel smiled ruefully. She would never handle portkeys as well as Aunt Megan.

They left the bathroom and sat down on one of the large benches. Rachel pulled her ticket out of her pocket and started to read. "They tricked me!" she cried in dismay. "This ticket's a phony!" Rachel shoved the ticket in Aunt Megan's hand. "See, see? Platform 9 and 3/4. There's no such thing! They were testing me to see if I would notice, and I didn't. I failed wizarding and I haven't even arrived at Hogwarts yet."

Aunt Megan laughed, giving Rachel her ticket back. "I should have told you before we got here. Oh, well, its too late now. Follow me, and take the owl."

Rachel followed Aunt Megan through King's Cross Station until they stopped in front of the barrier positioned between platforms nine and ten.

"Go on." Aunt Megan urged. "Just walk right through. I promise you'll be fine."

Rachel look back at Aunt Megan, thinking that she had surely gone crackers. She took a deep breathe, closed her eyes, and walked forward. After about twenty paces, she opened her eyes. She was no longer in front of the barrier. Instead, she was standing on a platform in front of a large red engine with the word "Hogwarts 

Express" stencled in gold.

"I made it!" she laughed and turned around to find Aunt Megan. Aunt Megan was standing right next to a woman who had five kids in tow. Each kid had firey read hair and a myriad of freckles. There was only one girl, and she looked younger than Rachel, but one of the four boys appeared to be Rachel's age.

"Rachel, come over here!" Aunt Megan called to her. "I want you to meet someone!"

Rachel skipped over to where her aunt was, owl cage in hand. "This is Mrs. Weasley," Aunt Megan began, "these are her kids, Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy. Ron here is your age, he has offered to help you adjust." The boy named Ron blushed and Rachel smiled at him. He seemed nice enough. The oldest boy, Percy was very smug looking, wearing his shiny Prefects badge. The two other boys were twins, they were both dressed in the traditional black robes. Ron, however, was wearing Muggle 

clothes, like Rachel. 

"Thanks." Rachel smiled again. "It was very nice of you to offer" 

"Um... you're welcome." Ron said, blushing in an even deeper tone now. His burgundy cheeks clashed with his flaming red hair. 

Fred Weasley laughed at this. "He didn't offer! Mum practically had to _force_ him to do it!" Both of the twins were in hysterics now. One of them, either Fred or George, Rachel couldn't tell, was rolling about on the ground and clutching his stomach.

Ron's face was now a deep maroon. "Shut up!" he yelled at his brothers. Percy looked at the twins with disgust.

"Mum, these two are embarrassing me beyind belief. I'll be talking with Penelope and her friends." Percy stormed off , leaving Mrs. Weasley with an exasperated look on her face.

"Boys," she barked to the twins, "stop laughing. This really isn't all that funny. And besides, your embarrassing your brother." Amazingly, the twins obeyed and Mrs. Weasley turned back to Aunt Megan. "Terribly sorry about that, they'll behave better under Dumbledore's watchful eye." Something in Mrs. Weasley's face indicated that she really didn't believe what she said. Rachel didn't care how good this Dumbledore guy was, judging by the boys' antics, the Weasley twins were going to behave just as poorly around him as they do with their mother.

***

On the train, Rachel sat across from Ron. He said that if she didn't stay with him and his friends, she would fall in with the wrong crowd. Rachel had no idea what he meant until a few moments after they had sat down. A tall boy with white blonde hair sauntered into their train car with two large, stupid looking boys. Rachel thought the first boy was rather handsome, aside from the sneer on his face.

"So, you've got a girlfriend, Weasley? What happened to Hermione? Won't the mudblood be terribly hurt?" The first boy laughed with the other two.

"Can it, Draco. Hermione's not my girlfriend, and neither is she." Ron jabbed his thumb in Rachel's direction, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Well I can see that." Draco sneered. "I didn't think a _Weasley_ could get a date. That was evident at the ball last year." Draco turned his attention to Rachel. "So, I'm Draco Malfoy, they," he indicated to the two boys who were with him, "are Crabbe and Goyle."

"Hi." the two boys mumbled. Rachel could tell that Draco was the boss and that Crabbe and Goyle pretty much did what he wanted them to.

Ron gave Rachel a pleading look and mouthed the words, "Make him go away." Rachel nodded in Ron's direction.

"Anyway, what's your name? I don't believe I've seen you before." Draco appeared to be interested in what Rachel was going to say.

"Rachel Witt. I just graduated from the Phoenix School of Elementary Magic. I'm coming here for my fifth, sixth and seventh years."

"Witt? Your mother is muggle born, then." Draco was starting to get his sneer back.

"That's right." Rachel replied suspiciously. She didn't know what Draco was getting at. Who cared if her mother was muggle born?

"Can you believe this?" Draco exclaimed, turning to Crabbe and Goyle. "They're letting mudbloods work for the Ministry! And American mudbloods at that! What's next?" he threw his hands up in mock despair.

"Excuse me, I think you're time is up." Rachel stood up. Draco scoffed and left, dragging both Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

Just as they were leaving, two more people came in the car, a girl and boy. 'Not more people!' Rachel thought. She really just wanted to go to sleep. She had, in a sense, jet-lag from the portkey.

"Hi Hermione!" Ron said, happily to the girl. Hermione smiled back and waved. She had bushy brown hair and an aura about her that said 'I'm smart and I know it.'

"Hey, what about me?" the boy asked, feigning a hurt look. The boy had wild, black hair and glases. 'He is really cute.' Rachel thought to herself.

"Hi Harry!" Ron gushed with mock enthusiasm.

"Much better." Harry replied.

"So, we have a new friend!" Hermione squealed and clasped her hands. She looked Rachel over and in a more serious tone, said "Judging by the frown on your face, you've met Malfoy."

Rachel smiled, this girl seemed nice, so did the boy named Harry. "Yup! And he was ever so charming!" Rachel loved being sarcastic, and she could tell that so did they.

Hermione squealed again. "She's American! Can you believe it?" Hermione looked back at Rachel. "So, why are you here?"

"Well, I'm Rachel Witt. I just graduated from the Phoenix Academy of Elementary Magic. This is the school that I'm attending for the next three years."

"I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione stuck her hand out, Rachel shook it, Harry stepped forward.

"I'm Harry Potter." He brushed back his hair. Rachel gasped, there was a scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightening. This was Harry Potter! The boys who lived! She would be going to school with _Harry Potter_!


	3. Of Spells and Rowboats

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Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

  
Chapter Three 

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Harry Potter was not at all what Rachel had expected. She had thought that he would be boastful and a little arrogant. He was exactly the opposite. Not once did he mention his parents, the curse, or even the Tri-Wizard Tournament. It was a surprise that someone that famous could be so humble.

Rachel was glad to be sitting across from Harry. Something about him made her feel safe. She felt like she could talk to him for hours and never get tired of his company. She told him about her life, the trips she had taken with her parents, Morgan, Aunt Megan. In exchange, Harry told stories of his life. He described his experiences with his Muggle family, the Quidditch World Cup, and the time he and Ron flew Mr. Weasley's enchanted car to Hogwarts, only to have it smashed in the Whomping Willow. Rachel couldn't stop laughing at the latter of the three.

Hermione, feeling left out, quickly started a conversation with Ron, who was busy staring at Rachel. "She's just a girl, for Heaven's sake!" Hermione whispered, quite loudly, to Ron. 

"I know." Ron whispered back. "She's just unlike any girl I've ever met." Ron now had dazed expression, like he was imagining every girl he had ever met. Hermione glared at him and turned to the rest of the car.

"Ron," she began, a little louder than normal "I believe that I saw Percy at the train station. I thought he had graduated." This broke the conversation that Harry and Rachel had, and also broke Ron's fixed gaze on Rachel. He turned to Hermione and smiled.

"Why yes, Hermione, he did graduate. The only reason he went with us is because Penelope was bringing her sister to the station and Percy wanted to 'bump into her'" Ron giggled a little, so did Harry. Hermione still kept her glare going. She was upset with Ron over his fixation with Rachel.

"If he graduated," Rachel thought aloud, "why was he wearing a Prefect badge?" She had quite clearly remembered the tall, pompous redhead wearing a shiny, silver Prefect badge.

Ron started laughing. "It's supposed to be his Head Boy badge, he wanted to impress Penelope, but George and Fred hexed it. It's supposed to say 'Big Head,' but the hex didn't go on quite right. It now says 'Prefect.' He still hasn't noticed yet." At this, everyone started laughing. Even Rachel. Hermione completely forgot her anger at Ron, forgiving him. It wasn't his fault that he was a 15 year-old boy. He couldn't help what he was naturally inclined to do, look at girls. 

***

Hogwarts' many towers and turrets loomed before the Hogwarts Express as it turned the final bend on the way to the castle. Rachel couldn't believe her eyes. She noticed two things: Hogwarts was huge. There were towers coming from every direction and the school looked as though the only element keeping it from crashing to the ground was magic.

Magic. That was other element she had noticed. The air seemed to be filled with many different types of magic. The grounds reeked of enchantments and everywhere she looked, another glimmer of a spell appeared. The walls and towers of Hogwarts were intertwined with the spells of over a thousand years. It seemed as though every spell cast in the castle became a part of it. The funny thing was, Rachel could actually distinguish the different types of magic and what spell had been cast. She had never been able to do this, nor had she heard of anyone who could.

The train lurched forward and then halted abruptly. Students all over the Hogwarts Express were thrown forward. Ron landed on the floor in front of Hermione and Rachel fell into Harry's lap. As Rachel was getting up, and apologizing profusely, an old man walked into their car. Rachel stared at him, forgetting she was on Harry's lap, there was something important about him.

"Hello children. No, that's not right, you're young adults now, I keep forgetting how quickly you grow up." Dumbledore smiled, a hint of sadness in his eyes. He turned his attention to Harry, with Rachel still in his lap. "So Harry, I see you have a girlfriend."

Hermione made a choking noise and Harry turned crimson. "Um, no Professor Dumbledore. Rachel just fell when the train stopped." Harry explained, quite embarrassed to be caught with a girl in his lap, who knows what rumors could be started?

"Ah, yes, I see. Then that would explain why Mr. Weasley is on the floor with his head under Miss Granger's feet. Unless, Hermione, he's your new footrest?" There was a glint of playfulness in Dumbledore's eye. Rachel noticed that you could tell what he was thinking, just by looking in his eyes.

She stood up and thrust her hand out. "Hello, sir. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Witt. I just graduated from the phoenix Academy of Elementary Magic. It's very nice to meet you." Dumbledore shook her hand and Rachel sat back into her seat.

Dumbledore smiled. "Ah, yes. Miss Witt. I have been expecting you. Go change into your robes. When you're done, come to my office. Harry will show you the way. Hermione, Ron, you might want to change as well." Dumbledore left the four of them in the train car.

Ron was blushing again. "How are we going to work this? Should we turn around?"

"No!" Rachel and Hermione yelled in unison. "Use your wand!" They looked at each other for an instant in burst into uncontrollable giggles.

"Finally," Hermione started, "someone who knows a few spells."

Rachael laughed. "You don't think I could go to one of the best schools in the world and not know anything?"

Hermione grinned. "That's what they did." She pointed to Ron and Harry.

Rachael laughed once more and replied "We really should teach them. They'll need to know." Both girls faced the boys and took out their wands. Pointing the wands at themselves……

__

"Crocatula!"

Instantly, the Muggle clothing was replaced with the girls' Hogwarts robes. The boys gaped, how had they not known about this? Was there some secret code that said only girls could learn useful spells? Harry decided to give the spell a try. Ron figured, what the heck? They both pointed their wands and very carefully mumbled _"Crocatula."_ Their jeans and t-shirts were now black Hogwarts robes.

"Wait a minute." Harry said. "what about our clothes?" Ron paled. He knew he couldn't lose his clothing, his Mum wouldn't be at all happy.

"That's easy, to change back into them, point your wand and say _uviae_." Rachel responded quickly.

"All right. Come on, Rachel. You can leave your stuff here. Somehow it always ends up in your room, anyway. Dumbledore won't wait forever." Harry grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her off the train. They were standing in front of a lake. There were several hundred Rowboats on the shore. A giant man with bushy black hair was guarding them.

"Stop!" he bellowed. "Yeh can't get off the train yet! Oh, 'i 'arry. What are yeh doin'?"

"Hi Hagrid. Dumbledore wanted me to take Rachel to his office. It's her first year here. Can we use one of the rowboats?" Harry pointed to a particularly small boat that looked like it would sink. Rachel knew it wouldn't, though. She saw a floatation spell woven through the timbers. It was probably the safest boat there.

"Harry, we should take that boat. It has a floatation spell on it."

"We can't, that's Neville's boat. If it didn't have the spell, it would sink for sure. Neville can sink anything." Harry laughed to himself, remembering the year Neville had tipped his boat. After that, the boat Neville took was charmed, so he wouldn't drench another set of student.

Harry pointed to another boat that was almost floating away. He grabbed on and indicated for Rachel to jump in. She did. They each grabbed an oar and started rowing over the lake to Hogwarts.

***

Five minutes later, they had rowed to the other side of the lake and were now in front of a large set of doors. Harry banged on one.

"Peeves! This isn't funny! Let us in. I'm on Dumbledore's orders." The doors didn't budge. "PEEVES! I'll report you to the Bloody Baron!" The doors opened slowly and Rachel saw someone floating away singing, "Potter, you rotter!."

"If you don't mind me asking…" Rachel said cautiously, "who was that? And _who_ is the Bloody Baron?" she shivered. These kinds of things gave her the creeps.

Harry smiled at her. She felt her insides melt. No matter what he said next, it would make her feel better. "Peeves is the school's poltergeist. The Bloody Baron is the only ghost who can control him. Follow me." Harry took Rachel's hand again. His hand was warm in hers. She sighed. This was the best school she had ever been to.

AUTHORS NOTE: The spells are actually Latin. Not just gibberish. I looked them up in a dictionary. :) 


	4. An Unpleasant Discovery

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Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

  
Chapter Four 

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The large, mahogany door that led to Dumbledore's office was shrouded in spells. Rachel noted that some of them had been cast hundreds of years ago, while others were from this morning. She touched the door and felt a jolt. There were powerful charms on the door. There were also simple locking spells that he must use to keep students out.

Rachel must have been in a trance because Harry was shaking her shoulders and calling her name. She snapped back.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes filling with concern. He was so cute!

"Yes, thanks. I was just trying to figure out what spells are on Professor Dumbledore's door."

Harry opened the door and led Rachel into a comfortably furnished room. The walls were covered with deep burgundy, velvet wall hangings. A door was on one side of the room, no doubt it led to Dumbledore's office. There were bookshelves on almost every wall, holding not only books, but also assorted knick-knacks, and in one corner there was a magnificent bird, a phoenix. The Phoenix must be fairly young, his plumage was a vivid red and his eyes shone brightly.

"Hello, Fawkes." Harry cooed, walking over to the bird and stroking its beak. "Fawkes saved my life once." Harry said to Rachel, or himself. "It was in the Chamber of Secrets, two years ago."

"Morwenna Mage had a phoenix in her office. His name was Helios. Professor Mage was my old Headmaster. She also taught Transfiguration. That was my favorite subject."

Professor Dumbledore came out of his office and beckoned for Rachel to approach. "Potter, you can come too. This might concern you." Dumbledore led them through another mahogany door to his office. There was an oak desk with two comfortable-looking chairs in front of it. Harry sat in one and Rachel sat in the other. Dumbledore sat in the big chair behind the desk.

"So tell me," he said to Rachel, "how was your previous school?" Dumbledore had pulled a stack of papers from somewhere and was now leafing through them, looking for her school records.

"The curriculum was very challenging. But it seems that I know just as many spells as the students here know." Rachel had been a little surprised at this because the Phoenix School of Elementary Magic was supposed to be advanced.

Dumbledore frowned. "How did you come to this conclusion?"

"Well, I spoke with Hermione about the curriculum here, she explained everything she had learned. I had just learned the concepts she mentioned."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Hermione Granger is our most advanced fifth-year. She should, like you, be a sixth year, but she's too young. Miss Granger spends about two hours a day in the school library, reading about every magical creature and spell you could imagine." He paused, as if thinking of saying more about Hermione, but changing his mind. "If you are bored with your work this year, come to my office and we'll work something out. Now, on to the Sorting Hat!"

Dumbledore walked back into the waiting room and motioned for Harry and Rachel to follow. On a stool, in a corner, was a raggedy wizard hat. It was tattered, and Rachel could tell that it was based on a very powerful and ancient spell.

"Normally students are sorted in the Great Hall when they are first years, but you are not a first-year and it might be embarrassing for you. We have about ten minutes before I have to bring the hat downstairs, so you'll be sorted right now."

Rachel sat down on the stool and tried the hat on. She had heard about this ceremony from her aunt over the summer. Supposedly, the hat would talk to her.

"Of course I'd talk to you! I'm not just any old hat! It's me that decides what house you are put in. I spent all this last year writing a song about my job, but Dumbledore told me to wait and sing it in front of the whole school, so you'll hear it then."

Rachel was a little startled. She hadn't expected the hat to actually talk to her. She had a feeling that the voice was only in her head, because Dumbledore and Harry weren't even paying attention.

"So, since you haven't heard my song, I'll give you a brief overview of the houses. We have Ravenclaw, our most studious students are placed there. Then there's Hufflepuff. If you work hard, that's where you'll go. There's Slytherin, the shrewd are placed there. And finally, there's Gryffindor. Our most noble and brave students find there way to that house."

'Not Slytherin! Anywhere but Slytherin!' Rachel was thinking. Her aunt had told her that Slytherin was the worst house. Rachel certainly didn't want to be placed there.

"Not Slytherin?" the hat said. "I'm not surprised. You don't have that drive to achieve evil in you. That would be considered a good thing, deary. Hmm… let's see. You've got an excellent mind; you'd do well in Ravenclaw, but wait! You work very hard to achieve your goals. Hufflepuff would be a good place for you. Let's see here, aha! There's what I was looking for! You love adventure! Gryffindor would suit you well. Since you're so much of everything, I'll just have to place you in… GRYFFINDOR!" The last word was yelled out to Dumbledore's office. Both Professor Dumbledore and Harry looked pleased with her placement.

"Another Gryffindor!" Harry cried happily. "I'll show her around today." From this, Rachel guessed that Gryffindor was the house that Harry was in.

Professor Dumbledore took the hat from Rachel, as well as the stool, and started to head out the door. "If you don't hurry, you'll miss the ceremony, and the feast!" Dumbledore called to them as he headed down the hall.

This time it was Rachel who grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him down the hall after Dumbledore. She stopped abruptly, seeing a man step out of a room and start walking towards them.

"Snape. It figures." Harry muttered.

"Who?" whispered Rachel.

"Professor Snape, he teaches Potions, he hates almost every student. Except his precious Slytherins." Harry said bitterly "Snape will kill us for sure."

"Ah, the famous Mr. Potter. My favorite student." Snape said in an icy voice. "Fancy meeting you here when you're supposed to be in the Great Hall. I see you have a friend, please, enlighten me." Snape glared at Harry.

"This is Rachel Witt, she just graduated from the Phoenix School of Elementary Magic. She's going to be going to school here for the next three years. Her house is Gryffindor." Harry replied in an equally icy tone. Two could play at this game.

"Hello, its nice to meet you." Rachel said, sticking out her hand,

Snape looked at it disgustedly and glared at her. "Ten points from Gryffindor for wandering the halls." He stalked off towards the Great Hall.

Rachel turned to Harry. "What have I done? Why did he take away points?" Rachel had also learned about the points system from her aunt.

"You didn't do anything. Snape just enjoys taken points away from us. It's a hobby of his or something."

Harry and Rachel walked after Snape, keeping a safe distance between them, towards the Great Hall.

***

The Great Hall was filled with students. Rachel and Harry were sitting next to Hermione and Ron at the Gryffindor table. They had missed Dumbledore's speech and the sorting. Rachel was disappointed about missing the sorting. She was anxious to see how it was done with the first-years. She also wanted to hear the song.

"I'm sure if you asked Dumbledore, he would let you come to his office and hear it." Hermione had suggested. Hermione had been excited that there was another girl in their clique. She had gotten tired of just having Ron and Harry. They were great friends, but sometimes it was hard to talk to them.

Dumbledore waved his wand and suddenly food appeared on the tables. There was an myriad of meats, breads, fruits, vegetables, and desserts. Rachel and the other Gryffindors piled their plates high with dishes of every type. Rachel chose fried chicken with rolls and mashed potatoes on the side. For dessert she had a slice of apple pie. "Now _this_ is good food!" she exclaimed several times throughout the meal. Hermione started off slowly, asking everyone which dishes the House Elves had prepared. She finally gave in and piled her plate with steak, carrots, broccoli, bread, and for dessert, pumpkin pie. She had decided that S.P.E.W. could wait one night.

After the feast, each house was lead by a Prefect to their common room. The Gryffindor Prefect was a sixth-year named Veraldaine Numair. She was tall and had wavy brown hair that went past her knees, chocolate brown eyes, and olive skin.

"Hi Gryffindor!" She called cheerily when they were at the entrance. The only response she got was several sleepy 'hi's.' "Well, aren't we tired? My name is Veraldaine Numair, you may call me Daine, if it's easier. As you know, I'm a Prefect and I expect to be treated with respect. If you have any problems or you get locked out, just come to me. All right, this week's password is _leaquila_. Basically, it means Gryffindor in Latin. Your schedules are on the bulletin board in the common room. Please only take one. Good night everyone."

Daine stepped into the common room. There was a great deal of pushing to get inside after she had gone. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Rachel waited at the back of the line.

"I don't see what the rush to get in is." Rachel commented. "We're all going to get there, whether we push ten people out of our way, or not." Hermione nodded in agreement.

Finally, they made it into the common room. Rachel went straight to the bulletin board with Hermione. They were dying to know what their first class of the year was.

"I hope it's Transfiguration!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Yeah, me too. The worst thing that could happen to us is we get saddled with something like Potions." Hermione replied.

They finally found the right schedule and looked for their first class. They groaned simultaneously. Their first class was a double Potions, with the Slytherins.


	5. Warp and Weft

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Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

  
Chapter Five 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've added a new feature! Whenever there's a break in the story and you see this *** ***, that means I've switch to another character's perspective.

Rachel woke up early the next morning to organize herself. She quickly changed into her robes, combed her hair, and started preparing for Potions. She read her copy of _Potions: What They Do and How to Make Them_ twice over, taking in every detail. She wanted to be prepared in case Snape wanted to test her. She would not be humiliated in front of the Slytherins. Rachel Witt would not give anyone a reason to mock her.

An hour later, Hermione and the rest of the dorm room work up. They all washed up and headed down to breakfast with the Gryffindor boys. Breakfast was served in the Great Hall. This was the time of day when Dumbledore made announcements. It was also when the owls delivered letters. There were about a hundred owls already in the Great Hall when the students started coming in. By the time the whole students body had sat down, there were at least three hundred.

Dumbledore stood up in his seat. All eyes were focused on him. "Good morning. I expect that you all slept well." Dumbledore's eyes swept around the room and finally focused on Harry, Ron and Hermione. "There is one announcement that I forgot to mention yesterday. Once again, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds." He kept his gaze on Harry and gave a small wink. Was Dumbledore daring Harry to check out the corridor?

***

The dungeon where Potions was held was very intimidating. Professor Snape had obviously done some re-decorating because there were now some implements of torture in various spots of the room. Snape walked into the room and instantly everyone became silent. He smiled a crooked grin that looked like it hadn't been used in quite a while.

"So, this is my class? I'm glad to see you're all at your desks. Ah," he said looking at Rachel, "it's our very own Miss America. It's nice that you decided to join us." There was a sneer in Professor Snape's voice. Rachel didn't like it. "Since you've not been with us these last four years, and since you've been at an _American_ school, I'm going to have to test your knowledge. I teach a very advanced class." Snape forced another crooked smile.

It was only five minutes into Potions and Rachel already hated her teacher. She would show him, though. From what she had gathered, she knew potions that were at a sixth-year's level. This little test of Snape's would go great for her.

"All right, Professor, I'm ready." 

"Fine. What is a Provectus Potion and how is it made."

Rachel was cheering inside. This was in the first chapter of her book! Snape thought he was so smart. She'd show him. 

"The Provectus Potion is an aging potion. Depending on how much is ingested; the drinker can age up to one hundred years older. The potion takes twenty-four hours to wear off unless the antidote is used. The antidote is the Parvulus Potion. They are both made from the root of the pristinus plant. The roots are boiled and then annunus powder is added to the mixture. For the antidote, add liber powder instead." Rachel smiled at the astonished look on Snape's face. He recovered quickly.

"Yes, I don't believe you'll have too much trouble. At least someone besides Granger will answer questions for once." Rachel felt her cheeks flush at this comment. It wasn't fair of him to compare her to her friend. Especially since she had just met Hermione. This might drive a wedge in their friendship.

The rest of Potions was boring. Snape lectured them on safety in the lab. He also told about the different ingredients they would be using in the potion they were making tomorrow. For the last five minutes of class, Snape allowed the students to pick lab partners for tomorrow. Rachel chose Hermione. Harry and Ron would be working together.

"Did you see the way Dumbledore looked at us when he talked about the closed corridor?" Harry asked Hermione excitedly. "He's got to remember that the third floor corridor is the same one that hid the Sorcerer's Stone! I bet that there's something hidden in there and he's challenging us to find it!"

"Hold your horses, Harry. Remember what happened in that chamber? That's right, you and Ron almost died. I'm not taking that chance again, just so you guys can have an adventure. Besides," she continued with a sly smile, "shouldn't we at least know what we're looking for? I say we start researching A.S.A.P. I'll pass by the teacher's lounge every once in a while to catch snippets of the conversations. You guys can ask the ghosts if they know anything. Not Peeves, just Nick and Myrtle. They've been a help in the past. Rachel, you can eavesdrop with me."

"Hold on, guys." Now it was Ron's turn to speak. "We don't even know if anything's going on! I say we wait until something strange happens before we start tearing the castle apart for clues."

Rachel cleared her throat. "I agree with Ron. We should take things slow, that was we can be sure of what we're doing."

Hermione laughed. "'Slow?,' 'Know what we're doing?' Rachel, I don't think Harry knows what those words mean! I don't know about anyone else, but I'm going to find out today!" Hermione stalked out of Potions muttering to herself.

"It's not you." said Harry. "She's just jealous that you knew something that she didn't. It's just a phase. So, what do we have next?" Harry looked at the parchment the Gryffindor schedule was written on. "Transfiguration. Let's go."

"Nice!" Rachel cheered. Transfiguration wasn't just her favorite class, it was her best.

***

Professor McGonagall stood in front of the class of eager students. The Gryffindors had Transfiguration alone, so there wasn't another house to deal with. "So, I expect your brains are thoroughly cleared out from your vacation?" McGonagall's lips were curled up in an amused smile. She seemed prepared to re-teach an entire year in the single week she put aside for review. Sighing, she pulled out a stack papers. "We will have a review quiz, now. You will transfigure these slips of paper," she indicated to a box where about two hundred slips of paper had been dropped, "into the objects on your paper. When you are finished, bring your objects up here for a grade. There is an extra credit object at the bottom. Good luck." She waved her wand and the test, as well as eleven slips of paper appeared on each students' desk.

The entire class, aside from Hermione and Rachel, groaned in dismay. How could she ask them to do this? Did she know how many steps were involved in transfiguring a piece of paper into a three-inch tortoise shell cat in the colors of autumn? McGonagall had definitely lost it this time.

Rachel just smiled. Transfiguration would be her easiest class this year; she could feel it. She touched her wand to the paper and muttered a spell under her breath. "Inflecto." Her last Transfiguration teacher had told her that this spell would allow her to see the warp and weft of each object's makeup. As predicted, a tapestry appeared before her eyes, each object's cloth was different. This one was plain white, with a loose weave. She knew from experience that all she had to do was rearrange the threads to get the entity that was desired.

She crinkled her nose at the bland, white weave that was the paper. Like the conductor of an orchestra, Rachel raised her wand. She looped it inside one of the warp threads and started tugging. The first item she had to make was a needle, two inches in length. The slip of paper was already that length; that made her task easier. She gave one final tug on the thread and the paper suddenly became a two-inch slip of metal. Then Rachel started waving her wand in and out of the threads, tugging, twisting, bending, and knotting them until there was a two-inch needle on her desk. She smiled, satisfied.

There were ten more slip left, including the bonus. The next item she had to make was a bouquet of daisies. There had to be 13 flowers. That was almost too easy for her. She picked up her wand and once again, she conducted an orchestra of threads to create a beautiful bouquet of perfect daisies.

*** ***

Professor McGonagall looked up from her desk. The class was quieter than she had anticipated. Each student was sitting at their desk, wand pointed at the slips of paper, concentrating hard on the transformation. Of course, Neville was having a bit of trouble, but overall, the class was doing pretty good. Professor McGonagall smiled to herself, 'Minerva, you've done a pretty good job.' She looked up again and scanned the class. Everything was in order, except one thing; _what was Rachel Witt doing?_

Rachel was waving her wand wildly through the air, swishing figure eights, loops and tying knots with the air, occasionally muttering a spell as she picked up each new slip of paper. 'Coming from the Phoenix School of Elementary Magic, she should know how to transfigure! Morwenna told me this girl was one of the best students she has! Is Rachel playing some sort of joke?' She watched Rachel continue to transform slip after slip of paper, until class was over. Minerva had decided that she would pull Rachel aside and simply ask her to explain her methods. After all, her transformations did come out perfect.

*** ***

Rachel had just finished her last slip of paper when class ended. The other students whined about not having enough time and how unfair it had been to have a test on the first day. "Rachel," Professor McGonagall called, "please come to my desk."

She obeyed, asking herself 'What could I have done? All I did was what she asked!'

"Am I in trouble?" the professor looked a little startled.

"Why would you be in trouble, you didn't cheat and your transformations where perfect." Rachel blushed at this comment. "I just wanted to know about your methods. They're a bit, peculiar." The professor chose the last word carefully.

"Oh." Rachel flushed, she had been afraid that Professor McGonagall was mad at her. Rachel certainly didn't want to be in trouble on the first day of school. "Professor Mage once told me that, considering the way I do magic, this would be the most practical way." The explanation was weak, she knew that, but Rachel hoped Professor McGonagall would take it and let her go to Herbology.

She was wrong. "What do you mean by 'the way you do magic?'

Rachel sighed. "I see the way magic works, when a spell has been cast, it lingers in the air and settles. After a while, it will disappear, depending on the potency of the spell. While the spell is still lingering, I can see it, tell who cast it, and what type of spell it is. I can also tell what kind of magic it came from." She paused, thinking of what to say next. "For example, when Harry transfigured a slip of paper into a chessboard, he used magic. For about a minute, the spell hung in the air around him. When I looked at the spell, I could tell that Harry had cast it using his wand and that it had changed a piece of paper into a wooden chessboard,"

Professor McGonagall looked astounded. "That's very unusual, but it still doesn't explain why you were waving your wand around."

"I am adept at Transfiguration. Professor Mage always told me that I'm one in a million; there were not many other people like me. To put it simply, each object has a certain composition. Most people don't see that, but I do. I see this as a cloth. There are warp threads and weft threads. By pulling on these threads, or knotting and twisting them, I change the composition of the object." That explanation was simple enough, Professor McGonagall should have no trouble understanding that.

This time, Professor McGonagall looked completely dumbfounded. "Do you mind skipping Herbology? I think Dumbledore will want to hear about this." 


	6. An Unexpected Reunion

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Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

  
Chapter Six 

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Harry was sitting in the common room when Rachel came in after her meeting with Dumbledore. She looked dazed. It was evident that the conference had been important by the fact that Rachel had spent over an hour in the headmaster's office.

Harry looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at her. Rachel was so… pretty. He just couldn't think of any way to put it. She had jade-green eyes that sparkled like diamonds when she smiled, and her hair was as soft as silk. Rachel walked over to where Harry was sitting and sat down next to him.

"Would you think of me any differently if I weren't a, um, traditional witch?" her voice quavered ever so slightly. Harry didn't have the foggiest idea about what she was saying.

"Of course not! Why, are you an animagus, or something?" Harry was very puzzled. Rachel was obviously worried about something and being very discreet about it. He decided to let this strange conversation continue.

She sighed. "I wish it were that simple. I'm an omnimagus." Rachel paused; Harry didn't seem to know what that was. "I can see how magic works, all magic, except Dark Magic. I probably wouldn't be able to tell how Voldemort's spells work." She gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth. How could she be so insensitive? People hated hearing Voldemort's name; Harry would probably go ballistic.

"I'm sorry, I meant to say 'You-Know-Who's' name. I can be so forgetful."

Harry laughed. "No, its fine. On the contrary, I prefer to use his name, if we're afraid of a name, we're going to be petrified of the actual person." Rachel's features softened a little and she dropped her hand from her face.

"That's a relief. At my old school, I scared kids half to death because I refused to not say his name!"

"I wonder if being an omnimagus changes the way you see things, like Voldemort, for example. I know grown men who are afraid to say his name, and you go around using it like it was your own. Do you think that your understanding of magic interferes with your ability to be afraid of magic?" Harry looked pensive, he appeared to be trying to analyze Rachel's abilities.

Rachel stiffened at the mention of her skill. She wasn't sure she wanted to be an omnimagus. People would scorn her for being different. They had done that to Harry in the years he'd been here. She didn't think she could be as strong as he had been. There was just too much pressure involved.

Harry looked into Rachel's face, "What's wrong? Every time I talk, you look like Moaning Myrtle." Rachel smiled, vaguely, she decided to open up to Harry, he would understand.

"I just don't want to be different. I would rather be the same as any other wizard or witch. The students will shun me and the teachers will either marvel or scorn. I don't think I can handle that." Tears welled up in her eyes. She had just wanted to fit in. She was already so different, being an American.

"No one has to know. Dumbledore won't tell anyone, you don't have to either.

Rachel's smile returned. "Thanks, I knew you would understand." Rachel was standing up when she noticed something strange, the fire had gone out. Magical fires weren't supposed to go out. In fact, now that she thought about it, she couldn't sense any magic at all. It was almost a if something had absorbed it all. She pulled her wand out. "Lumos!" She saw the spell leave the wand, a silvery wisp of magic, and then, disappear. She tried again, same results. Something was soaking up the magic.

***

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Rachel were sitting at one of the large tables in the library at Hogwarts. Each one of them had a stack of books and scrolls in front of them. Hermione was frantically scribbling down notes on a roll of parchment that was easily two feet long.

"I think I finally found it!" She cried out happily and began reading from an ancient book with a worn, leather binding.

__

The Chalice of the Enchanter:

The origin of this chalice is unknown, as is the reason for its title. All that is known about this legendary goblet is its purpose. The Chalice of the Enchanter absorbs magic. Wherever the Chalice is held, it pulls the spells around it in, and repels the spells that are already contained inside it. It is believed that the knowledge of the entire wizarding world is held inside the Chalice.

Hermione put the quill down on the table. "The Chalice must be here! I bet that's why Dumbledore has banned the third floor corridor. That's why the magic disappeared for an instant. They must have brought the Chalice into the building. Then, the spells rebounded back to us."

"Why would they keep the Chalice here. It's never been at Hogwarts before; this book says that the Chalice has always been kept at the Museum of Magical Artifacts and Treasures." Ron was puzzled, to say the least.

Hermione sighed and looked ever so slightly annoyed. "Its obvious, someone's trying to get it. The Chalice holds all of the knowledge wizards have ever acquired. Whoever found the Chalice could control the entire world. If they were evil enough."

Rachel gasped. "Voldemort!" She cried. "It's him, it's got to be!" she looked at Ron's shocked face.

"Don't say that word." He croaked. "It scares the living daylights out of me!"

Hermione looked interested. "How do you figure."

"Well, I researched the events that took place during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Voldemort was strong then, correct?" she looked around at the three nodding heads. "He has had all summer to recuperate. He might have an entire nation of Death Eaters backing him up! All he needs is power, he doesn't have much of that. The Chalice would help him tremendously."

Harry thought for a minute. "She's right, as far as I can tell. Who else would have a use for a national treasure."

Ron was the practical one this time. "I think that you guys are blowing this _way _out of proportion. We should wait until we have a reason to go an investigate."

"Always ruining the fun." Harry joked. He looked at Rachel, who appeared to be deep in thought. "What's on your mind?" she snapped to and looked at him.

"Was I daydreaming again?" Harry looked at her as if she were crazy. "Remember that discussion, this is completely related." 

"Oh." Was all he said. Harry didn't want to make her upset.

"What discussion?" Hermione's' voice was a little icy. "Am I being left out of anything?" she took a step towards Harry. This girl was taking over her life! First she comes in and puts Snape in his place, then she get special attention from McGonagall and Sprout. Now she had the nerve to start having private conversations with Hermione's friends!

"It was nothing, don't worry, Hermione. You haven't been replaced."

Rachel smiled at Hermione, apologetically. "I just needed help with a small problem and Harry was the first person I ran into. I would have asked you, but you were in Arithmancy." Hermione's frown dissipated.

"Sorry," she mumbled, "I've just been feeling a touch of jealousy lately." Hermione stalked out of the library, to the dorm, leaving the three friends behind. 

"She'll be okay." Ron stated flatly, as if he didn't believe what he was saying. "It's not your fault. She's just used to being the best at everything. It will pass." He smiled at Rachel. She smiled back. It was nice having friends like these.

***

That night, something gave Harry a very strong reason to believe that Voldemort was back; his scar hurt. It wasn't just a dull throbbing like usual, his entire head ached and a shooting pain raced through his body. He sat upright and shivered. He had thrown all of his blankets on the floor. He reached down to pick them up and heard voices. There were three, all talking down in the common room. One voice was distinctly American.

"What was that?" Hermione's voice was shaking. She and Rachel were sitting on the sofa by the fireplace, staring into the merrily crackling flames. Ron was pacing in front of them; his robes had clumsily been thrown over his pajamas. The girls were still in their nightgowns. They had just run down to the common room and seen Ron.

Harry joined the three and sat down next to Rachel. "So, why are you three up?"

"We all heard something about five minutes ago, it woke Hermione and I up, Ron was already down here."

"You were talking in your sleep again. I decided to come down here to read, that's when I heard the noise. It was a shrill scream, like one of Hagrid's beasts." Ron looked a little worried.

"I wonder why nobody else heard it." Harry mused. This was peculiar. First, his scar hurts, then a beast, which only they can hear, well his friends could hear it, is heard shrieking. And then there was the Chalice, Harry was sure that it was at Hogwarts. Where else would they store it if it were sought by evil? Certainly not Gringotts, the wizard bank was not nearly as safe as Hogwarts.

"We were the only ones who didn't drink Madame Pomfrey's hot cocoa today. They added a sleeping potion, and thankfully Rachel found out. The three of us just gave our cocoa to the other students. You obviously had a nightmare, or your scar hurt." That was Hermione, always the logical voice in the group.

"Okay, so it hurt, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything." Rachel chimed in. "I'm thinking we should have a scavenger hunt tonight." 

"I like the way you think." Hermione agreed. "Harry, will your Invisibility Cloak cover all of us?"

"I don't know, we've only done three people at a time."

'No problem. I got one for my birthday. It was a gift from the twins. They still have a gross amount of money from your winnings." Ron laughed. The Weasley twins had developed their own line of candies, including their infamous Ton-Tongues. With the extra money, they had bought Ron and Ginny Invisibility Cloaks to keep the mischief going. Ron bolted to his dorm room and pulled the silvery cloak from his trunk.

"Why don't I go with Ron." Hermione said, slyly. "Rachel isn't as familiar with our methods, you can help her." Hermione and Ron ducked beneath the shimmery fabric and disappeared. Rachel and Harry did the same.

The four Gryffindors slowly crept from the common room, only opening the portrait wide enough to squeeze out. They didn't want to wake the Fat Lady, she would surely botch their plans.

Rachel had no idea where she was going. Mainly she held onto Harry's robes and walked. She could hear Hermione and Ron close by. Ron had just stepped on Hermione foot, for the third time, and was being chastised again.

"Why isn't Hermione mad at me anymore?" Rachel whispered in Harry's ear. She was positive that Hermione wouldn't just give up a grudge that easily.

"Oh, we talked to her and she realized that she shouldn't be mad at you just because you were better in one subject. We told her that she should try to concentrate on making friends, we already have enough enemies."

"Thanks, I don't like people being angry with me or jealous of me."

"We're here." The group stopped in front of a large door. Hermione pointed her wand at it.

"Wait!" Rachel hissed. "The Chalice is behind that door, whatever spell you cast is going to be sucked up by the Chalice and returned to you without any affect."

"That must be Dumbledore's first defense! The person trying to get by this door would have to find a way, besides their wand, to open it!" Hermione smiled triumphantly. "Wait, how are we going to get by?" her smile faded.

"I'm working on it!" Rachel whispered. She didn't want to attract attention. She looked at the door and saw a single thread of powerful magic was wrapped around the lock. Slowly, she untangled the knotted spell and pushed on the door. It opened.

Hermione and Ron gaped at the door. "How?" they both stammered.

"Just a trick I picked up somewhere." Rachel wasn't sure she wanted to reveal her secret just yet.

They stumbled into the dark room. Hermione started humming, to calm Fluffy's nerves, but the three-headed dog wasn't there. In fact, all that seemed to be in the room was a beast that appeared to be a hippogryff.

"BUCKBEAK!" Hermione cried, throwing her arms around the animal's neck. She hadn't seen him since his trial, two years ago.

Harry a smiled and approached the hippogryff. He had removed the Invisibility Cloak. Rachel crept up behind him. After Harry had greeted Buckbeak, Rachel bowed to the magnificent creature. "He's beautiful." She breathed out. Buckbeak bowed back and Rachel stroked his smooth beak.

Rachel saw something in one of the dark corners. It looked like the outline of a man. She grabbed Harry's arm and pointed. The shadowy figure walked closer to them, he was almost to Buckbeak. Hermione gasped and Ron looked pale. The man walked slowly towards the small group and they could see his face.

"Sirius!" Harry cried.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please review! :)

  
~Caitie 


	7. A Startling Discovery

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Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

  
Chapter Seven 

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Rachel gasped. _Sirius Black! This man was a murderer! He killed thirteen people and he escaped from Azkaban. How could her friends be treating him like family? What was wrong with them? Did they want to get killed?_ She looked up. Harry was speaking excitedly with Sirius while Ron and Hermione would occasionally chime in. _They're mad!_.

"No offense to you, sir." Rachel stammered, addressing Sirius. She turned to Harry, "Why are you conversing openly with a convicted murderer? It just baffles me! Does Dumbledore know he's here?" Rachel was near hysterics. She had heard from friends about the crazy things that happened at Hogwarts, but she never thought that housing criminals was one of them.

Harry laughed. "I'm sorry, I should have said something. Rachel, I'd like you to meet my godfather, Sirius Black." Sirius stuck out his hand, sheepishly; Rachel quickly shook it and backed away. "I know you think we're mad, but let me explain…" Harry proceeded to tell Rachel of the events of their third year at Hogwarts. He explained about Scabbers, the Marauder's Map, Wormtail, Padfoot, Moony, and Prongs, and even the death of his own parents. By the end of the tail, everyone in the room had shed a few tears.

"I'm sorry I jumped to a conclusion like that. It's just that I've been taught for quite a while that you were a horrible person. At my old school, we would the _Daily Prophet_ and you're face would be staring back at us. It was quite a shock for me to see you in person, I hope you'll forgive me." Rachel didn't know why she was so apologetic; she had just met the man a few minutes ago. In fact, she wasn't altogether sure if she could trust him, however, something inside of her said that he was telling the truth.

Sirius smiled. "That's quite all right. No one has found Peter Pettigrew yet, and until they find him, I'm still considered guilty. That's why Dumbledore brought the Chalice here, I assume you know about that."

Hermione looked confused. Rachel could almost see the gears in her head turning at lightening speed. "I thought the Chalice of the Enchanter only stored magic. Why would that help find Peter?"

"The Chalice of the Enchanter is also the Chalice of Truth, and the Goblet of Fire. There are so many purposes for it. The Chalice of Truth will answer any question, if it's asked properly. No one has every found out the true way to ask the Chalice a question, some have some close, though. You have to have a broad knowledge of magic to be able to read the spells that have been laid into the Chalice." Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment.

"The Goblet of Fire! The book never said anything about the Goblet of Fire being the same as the Chalice of the Enchanter!" Harry was flabbergasted.

"That's because the book you read was very old. There haven't been any books published that contain the Goblets for over five hundred years. Back then, the Goblet had only been seen by a few dozen people. None of them really had studies it, so they all assumed the goblets were separate."

Hermione gasped, "There might be more than one reason why You-Know-Who wants the Chalice!"

Sirius looked at her curiously. "Yes, that's right. It has been rumored that an omnimagus has been born within the last two decades. There has not been an omnimagus for centuries. It is speculated that only an omnimagus can unlock the secret to the Chalice, thereby defeating Voldemort."

Rachel passed out.

***

Rachel awoke on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room, it was early morning. The fire was slowly dying. She looked around, Harry and Ron were playing chess and Hermione was reading _Quidditch Through the Ages_. Hermione looked at her.

"Looks like someone had a good night sleep."

Rachel smiled weakly. "What happened?" 

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you hit your head? You just passed out halfway through Sirius' story."

Rachel remembered now, he had said that only an omnimagus could help defeat Voldemort. There was just too much pressure. She had overloaded and passed out. "I'm fine." She smiled weakly. 

"No, you're not. You don't just faint halfway through a story. I called Madame Pomfrey, she'll be here in a minute." As soon as the words were out of Hermione's mouth, Madame Pomfrey rushed into the room.

"What happened? Is she awake yet?"

"She just woke up. What happened was this: I was telling her about my Arithmancy assignment and she just passed out. I'm not sure if she hit her head."

Rachel stared at Hermione, she might have hit her head, but she did know that Hermione had not been telling her about Arithmancy. Hermione stared back and mouthed _If I tell her what really happened, we could get in (pardon the pun) serious trouble._

Rachel sat up. "I'm fine." she mumbled. "Really. It's no big deal. I was just tired, that's all." Madame Pomfrey didn't look satisfied with that response.

"No matter what you say, you are spending the day in the hospital wing. I will not have students passing out in classes." Madame Pomfrey continued to mutter to herself as she led Rachel to the hospital wing. 

Ron and Harry looked at Rachel helplessly. "We'll visit!" Hermione called after her.

***

As soon as Madame Pomfrey released Rachel from her care, Rachel raced to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Until now, their new professor had been ill. They had not even met her at the banquet. Rachel didn't want to miss this opportunity. She had heard that Hogwarts had never been able to keep a D.A.D.A. professor for more than a year.

She reached the door and rushed inside. "Sorry I'm late!" she panted. "I was in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me go!" Rachel was looking at a class of smirking Gryffindors and a short, stout woman who sat in front of the class. 

"That's quite alright. I know how Madame Pomfrey is. I practically had to fly the Tour de France before she was convinced that I had gotten over pneumonia. Of all the diseases to keep me in bed, it's a muggle one." The woman was in her mid-fifties with white blonde hair and glasses that perched on the tip of her nose. She wore robes of a deep emerald and a witch's hat that was perfectly balanced on the pile of curls atop her head.

"I'm Professor Stapf. I believe that we have met before. I was at your graduation. Morwenna told me some interesting things about you. The air around Professor Stapf glowed a dim emerald that matched her robes. This woman reeked of powerful magic.

"Hi Professor, I'm Rachel Witt. It's nice to meet you." Rachel sat down next to Harry. "Do you notice anything, um, strange about her?" she whispered.

"No." Harry whispered back. "It must be something with your magic." Rachel nodded and focused in on the day's lesson, boggarts. Rachel was about to raise her hand to say that she had already learned about boggarts when Harry beat her to the punch.

"With All due respect, Professor Stapf, we already studied boggarts with Professor Lupin."

"Hmm, and I suppose you studied the Unforgivable Curses last year? I heard that you all became quite familiar with them." She winked at Harry.

"Yes, you could say that." This time it was Hermione who spoke.

"Very well, then. Have you studied omnimages?" Professor Stapf looked directly at Rachel, who slunk down in her chair.

__

She knew! How could she know? Rachel's mind reeled. _Did Dumbledore or McGonagall tell her? No, they couldn't have. They wouldn't betray my trust like that._

"No, we haven't studied them!" Hermione chirped. She was always ready to learn something new.

"Well then, that seems like a good place to start." Professor Stapf opened a worn textbook and began to read in a monotonous tone:

__

Omnimages: The Wizards of All Worlds

Omnimages, or omnimagi, are among the most powerful beings known to our world. They have the ability to use any type of Light Magic and can decipher almost any spell. Omnimagi are also able to see how magic flows in nature.

Omnimagi have no distinguishing traits. They look and act as normal wizards. However, they do have a flair for Transfiguration. Many omnimagi are also animagi.

Professor Stapf closed the book and laid it on her desk. Hermione looked riveted. She almost burst out that the Chalice of the Enchanter could be deciphered by an omnimagus, but she stopped herself. Revealing that information would undoubtedly lead to their midnight run-in with Sirius being discovered. That wouldn't be good. Instead she sat still and listened to Professor Stapf ramble on about various famous omnimagi and what their accomplishments were.

Rachel was glued to her seat. Somehow, this new Professor had learned about Rachel and was on the verge of divulging her secret to the entire class. _Maybe she'll change the subject._ Rachel wanted to disappear before this discussion got out of control. A girl, Rachel didn't know her name yet, was asking if any omnimagi attended Hogwarts. Professor Stapf was opening her mouth to answer. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut.

__

Being a bird would be nice right now, maybe a chickadee. Yes, that would be wonderful. I could fly away from the classroom unnoticed. She envisioned herself as a bird, flying around the room.

Rachel opened her eyes and sighed. She felt a lot better now. She looked up and saw Harry staring at her; his mouth was dropped open. Now that she thought about it, Harry looked gigantic. In fact, the whole room looked huge. Her vision was a little off as well. She couldn't see in front of her very clearly.

"Y-y-you're a _bird_!" Harry stammered, blinking his eyes in disbelief.

Rachel heard someone gasp, or rather several someones. The entire group of Gryffindors surrounded her desk. They murmured among themselves, while staring at her in astonishment.

"What happened?" she asked aloud, though her voice was only a sweet chirping to the class. Professor Stapf scooped the girl up in her hands.

"Class dismissed everyone! My _avis_ potion fell on Rachel. I'll have to turn her back." She briefly looked at Harry. "You may stay." Harry obeyed. The class filed out of the room, seeming to have forgotten all about Rachel.

Once the class was gone, Professor Stapf turned her attention to Rachel again. "You have some explaining to do. But first, transfigure back. Just imagine yourself as a human again."

Rachel shut her eyes and thought about being a human again. She pictured herself standing in the D.A.D.A. room, talking with the professor and Harry. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked into the astonished face of Harry. "Didn't know I could do that." Rachel said meekly.

"That's alright, I just don't want you changing in my class. It's rather distracting to me, not to mention the students. Poor Harry nearly had a heart attack. Now I assume he knows about your magic."

"You mean that she's an omnimagus? Yes, I do know that." Harry smiled sheepishly.

"Good, that will make this whole discussion easier. For starters, I am an omnimagus. You may have noticed that, Rachel. An omnimagus can tell if a wizard is an omnimagus by their aura. Normal wizards don't have them, however Harry dear, you do have the slightest tinge of an aura. My aura is an emerald green." She looked at Rachel closely. "Yours is a royal blue. Harry, you have a reddish mini-aura."

"What does that have to do with me turning into a bird?" Rachel's curiosity was tugging at her hard.

Professor Stapf paused, thinking of the right words. She finally gave up, deciding upon being blunt "You're an animagus. I thought you knew that already, though. As an added bonus, since you're an omnimagus, you can transfigure into any creature you desire. You just have to imagine yourself as that creature." She straightened her witch's hat and led them to the door. "You two had better hurry, Professor Snape frowns upon tardiness."

Rachel and Harry exchanged a worried look as they raced out the door and down the hall towards the dungeon where Potions was taught.

***

September was far in the past, and October was slowly fading. The four friends had become even closer in the past weeks; however, Rachel still had not revealed her secret. Why should she? No one needed to know. She would just as soon live her life as a normal Hogwarts student.

Rachel's parents had sent her an owl, describing their latest mission with the Ministry and congratulating her on her attending Hogwarts. They hadn't mentioned when they were coming home, though. Rachel missed her family. She longed to hear Aunt Megan's tinkling laugh or Megan's cunning sense of humor. Sure, her friends were great, but they didn't replace her family.

***

Harry snuck up behind Rachel as she and Hermione were discussing their Arithmancy assignment in the corridor down by the kitchens. "Quidditch tryouts are today!" he shouted happily, startling the two girls.

"Harry!" Hermione snapped. "Please don't do that! We're having a conversation." She looked at Rachel, who was now staring at Harry dreamily. "Well," she continued, "we were."

Harry shrugged, apologetically. "Sorry Hermi, I just couldn't control it. Quidditch is starting soon and we have a position to fill on the team. Hint. Hint."

Hermione turned around to face him. "What did you just call me, Hermi? What is that? I'll go by nothing other than Hermione, and if Viktor so desires, Herm-own-ninny. Now as for the Quidditch team, you know as well as I that I have never set foot on a Quidditch pitch, and I don't plan to anytime soon."

Rachel hid a small grin beneath her hand. She loved watching the playful banter between the two friends. Harry new exactly what to say to make Hermione angry. Even in the two months she had known them, she had picked up on that. As soon as anyone mentioned a sport to Hermione, she went off her rocker. "I'd be interested in joining the Quidditch team." Rachel piped in. "It would be fun, and I'm not half bad as a Seeker, however Chaser really is my forte."

Harry's face lit up, wouldn't it be great to be on the Quidditch team with Rachel? He could spend even more time with her. As much as Harry had liked Cho last year, he liked Rachel twice as much, and he had a feeling that she liked him too. "Sure! We need a new chaser. All you have to do is go to tryouts today!"

Rachel grinned. "I'll be there! But be warned, I haven't played Quidditch in over a year. I'm a little rusty." She scuffed her sneaker against the stone floor and looked back for a response.

"That's okay, neither have I. In fact, I'm not really sure how many more players we need on the team. He shrugged and started walking towards the common room. "See you at tryouts!"

Rachel grabbed Hermione's robes and whispered, "Do you have a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_? I need to catch up on the rules. To be honest, I've only played once, with my sister when we were little."

Hermione smirked. "Sure, if you really want to impress Harry that much. I'm positive that we find a copy at the library." The two girls raced to the library. They only had two hours until tryouts.

***

Rachel stepped out onto the Quidditch pitch. The autumn sunlight played in her hair, making the strands dance with shimmering colors. Her robes billowed in the breeze as she walked towards the middle of the field.

Hermione stood off to the side of the pitch. She didn't want to miss Rachel's debut. About an hour ago, they had borrowed the Snitch and Quaffle from Madame Hooch. Hermione had let them loose and Rachel had practiced for a good half hour.

Rachel bit her bottom lip as she stood in line with the other hopefuls. This Quidditch team was the only way she could impress Harry. She needed to make it! Two older girls were standing next to Harry and the Weasley twins. All five of them were wearing the scarlet Quidditch robes of Gryffindor. One of the girls began talking.

"Hello everybody, I'm Katie Bell. This, " she said, indicating the girl on her left, "is Angelina Johnson. I'm assuming you all know Fred, George and Harry." Every student nodded emphatically. As you know, Quidditch teams normally have seven people. However, Dumbledore is allowing each team to have an extra this year. We need someone who is good at all positions. So, we will have each one of you play a different position during the scrimmage. Katie and I, being seventh years," the two girls nodded solemnly, "will observe you during the scrimmage. We will take notes and post the results tomorrow in our common room."

Katie looked around at the eager faces. There were only eleven people trying out. She thought for a moment. "Fred, George, Harry, you guys are going to be on the red team with… Daine, Ginny, Seamus, and Colin." She touched each student with her wand. Instantly their robes were now a vibrant red. "The rest of you will be the black team. Now, I want everybody to play every position. When you here the whistle three times, switch with someone. All right, everybody grab a Nimbus 2000 from the pile. We don't want any advantages because of the brooms. 1… 2… 3… GO!" Fourteen players rose into the air at once. Angelina released the four balls and the game was underway.

Rachel and Ginny started out as Keepers. This was a harder job than Rachel had imagined. She did manage to save it quite a few times. Ginny, however, never let one in. Three shrill "tweets" sounded throughout the stadium as Katie blew the whistle. Rachel was now a Chaser. This was more her cup of tea.

The Quaffle soared through the middle goal. Rachel had scored. She was about to congratulate herself when Katie blew the whistle again. She was now a Beater.

Back in Salem, Rachel had played the Muggle game of baseball. That helped her prepare for this. A Bludger was headed towards a third year that was on her team. Instinctively, she raced towards the girl and bashed the Bludger hard towards Harry, who was playing Chaser. They missed him, but just barely. She smiled to herself and the whistle blew again. This was the final change. She would now be playing Seeker, opposite Harry Potter.

Rachel looked around the pitch, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of the winged ball. This was the most important part of the game. The Seeker was the one who could determine whether or not the team won the game. So far, no one had even spotted the Snitch. 

Rachel circled the pitch a few times and noticed Harry doing the same thing. There it was! The Snitch was hovering about five feet away from the red goal posts. Both Harry and Rachel were about fifty feet away. She crouched on her broom and raced to the Snitch, so did Harry. They were neck-in-neck, getting closer to the Snitch every second. 40 feet, 30, 20, 10. Rachel looked at Harry, he looked back. She flashed him a large grin and caught the Snitch. Harry's hand closed around air.

The black team erupted in cheers. They had won! The red team shook their heads in disbelief. They had just lost. Harry had missed the Snitch, and Rachel had caught it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this took so long! And Jill, I know you're reading, please review!


	8. Parseltongues and Woogs

****

Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

  
Chapter Eight 

********** ********** ********** ********** **********

The sun swept across the girls' dorm, dancing a well-known waltz. The golden rays rested on Rachel's pillow and trickled over her eyes. The girl awoke, blinking in the sudden brilliance that was the sun. She sat up in the four-poster bed and yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. _Today is Saturday_. She thought, sleepily. _I have all day to rest._ Her brain suddenly snapped into reality. Quidditch tryouts had been yesterday and the results would be posted in -- Rachel looked at the clock, 9:25 – five minutes! She leapt out of bed and quickly brushed her teeth and combed her hair.

The eleven hopefuls stood around the bulletin board that would soon make known the three newest members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Rachel stood amongst the group, trying to remain calm. She desperately wanted to make the team; however, she didn't want her misery revealed if her name did not appear on the list. Acting nonchalant was the only way she could safely go about this. 

Angelina Bell walked into the common room and parted the small crowd that had gathered. She was holding the list in her hands. Rachel would soon know whether or not she was worthy of a slot on the team. Angelina glided by Rachel and smiled reassuringly. Rachel's heart leapt just a little. This might mean she had made the team! 

The seventh year turned to face the crowd and waved her wand in the air, muttering a charm that Rachel couldn't quite hear. Suddenly, a shrill whistle rang through the hall, a result of Angelina's spell. The congregation all focused on her and waited for Angelina's presumably long speech. 

"This year was the hardest of all the tryouts." Angelina began, looking over her attentive audience, "There were so many talented players that came to us. And after last years trauma," the whole hall was silent. Rarely did a student mention Cedric's death, "I didn't think that Quidditch could resume normally; however, the eleven people who tried out proved that we can have a team this year. I am very proud of all of them, whether or not they made the team." With that statement, Angelina hung the short scroll and stepped aside. Rachel rushed up to the front with the ten other Gryffindors and read the parchment.

**__**

THE 2001 GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH TEAM

  
_BEATER_:Fred Weasley   
_BEATER_:George Weasley _  
CHASER_:Angelina Johnson   
_CHASER_:Katie Bell   
_CHASER_:Jill Broomscuttle _  
KEEPER_:Ginny Weasley   
_SEEKER_:Harry Potter _  
CAPTAIN_:Angelina Johnson & Katie Bell _  
EQUIPMENT   
MANAGER_:Daine Numair 

Rachel bit her lip to keep back the tears that were bound to come. How could they cut her? She had beat Harry Potter in a race for the Snitch! The least they could have done was let her be equipment manager! Yet, they hadn't even given her that. Life was unfair.

Rachel started to go to her dorm room when Katie Bell stopped her. "Why aren't you in the crowd? I haven't given my speech. No one leaves until that's finished." Katie winked at Rachel and led her back to Harry and Hermione. Ron was with his siblings, congratulating Ginny. Rachel could hear them talking. 

"Way to go, Ginny!" That was Fred, or George. Rachel still couldn't tell them apart.

"Mum's going to be so proud." Ron was beaming proudly at his little sister. George, or was it Fred, leaned over to Ginny, and in a falsetto, crooned;

"Mumsie is evew so pwoud of hew wittle Ginny. Wittle Ginny made the big Quidditch team." The twins were laughing mercilessly and Ginny glared at them beneath her curly red coif.

"Very funny." Ginny's glare didn't subside until the twins' laughter died down. 

"Oh, all right. We'll send Mum an owl tonight telling her the good news." Ginny looked satisfied and started babbling about how excited she was. 

Harry walked over to Rachel and put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright?" His clear green eyes looked into the teary emerald depths of hers. He looked so concerned for her.

"I'm fine." Rachel replied, quickly wiping away the tears that had fallen on her face. "I'm just disappointed that I didn't make the team." She gazed into Harry's eyes again and felt a little flutter in her chest. He was so sweet, looking out for her like that. Rachel suddenly wished that Harry would hold her hand. She wanted to feel the warmth from his palm in her own.

Katie Bell stepped up to where Angelina had stood a moment ago. "I have an important announcement to make." She spoke calmly, in a commanding tone. No Gryffindor would dare disobey Katie Bell. Rachel brushed away a final tear that had fallen and looked to where the seventh year girl was standing. Harry dropped his hands to his sides and did the same. "Some of you may have noticed that one position is missing from the team. Professor Dumbledore has allowed each house to add a substitute, in case any team member is ill, or unable to attend the match. This player must be skilled in all areas of the game and also must be able to handle the pressure that would be placed on them. 

"During tryouts, one girl displayed all of these qualities. She was a superb Keeper, an even better Beater, a fabulous Chaser, and above all, one of the best Seekers that I have ever seen. In fact, this girl beat our own Harry Potter to the Snitch, to create one of the first losses in Harry's career, which is why I am proud to announce that Rachel Witt will be our new Reserve." Katie flicked her wand at the list and the words "_RESERVE_: Rachel Witt" appeared at the bottom. 

Rachel smiled and hugged the first person she saw, which happened to be Harry. He stumbled back, a little startled. That didn't faze Rachel at all. She caught both Ron and Hermione in what she affectionately called a "bear hug." 

Hermione looked a little indignant. "If it's called a 'bear hug,' why not leave it to the bears?" She brushed imaginary dust off of her perfectly clean Hogwarts robes and took a step back from the three celebrants.

"Oh, come on Hermione. She was just excited. It's not like she ruined your robes, or anything." Harry lightheartedly chastised Hermione and put his arm around Rachel's shoulders. 

"We're celebrating the fact that his ego's gotten a bit smaller." Ron said, dodging the ersatz punch that came from Harry. 

'Yeah," Rachel said, wrapping an arm around Harry's waist, "I didn't mean anything by it. In America, we just express ourselves very openly. I'm sorry if you are offended." Rachel was sorry for offending Hermione; however, she was too busy feeling the joy of being near Harry to pay much more attention to the girl.

At eleven o'clock, the assembly separated to go to their only class of the day. Fifth year Gryffindors had Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid.

***

Rachel and Harry walked all the way to Care of Magical Creatures hand in hand, followed by Hermione and Ron. Hagrid always made lessons fun and Harry had a feeling that today would be no different. As they walked across the grounds to where Hagrid's hut, and his classroom sat. 

Once again, the Gryffindors had Care of Magical Creatures at the sane time as the Slytherins, who had arrived first. Draco Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, was, no doubt, preparing his rude comments. Rachel could see him, a look of disgust on his face, gesticulating wildly and starting every sentence with "My father is very influential on [so and so] board of [so and so]…" 

Rachel giggled and pointed at the motley crew when Harry looked puzzled. He ha to stifle a laugh when he saw Malfoy's next exploit. He was clutching his arm; a look of faux anguish plastered to his face, screaming – in a normal voice, so as not to be heard before the presentation – "I'll get you for this! One time was enough, my father will get you fired again."

Hermione walked over to them and tapped Draco on the shoulder. "You're going to have to be a lot more convincing then that if you want to win an Academy Award." she said coldly. "I didn't think that even you would stoop this low, Malfoy." She gave him a dirty look and walked back over to where Rachel, Harry and Ron were standing. Malfoy followed.

"Aw, isn't this sweet. Potter finally got a girlfriend." Malfoy drawled, staring at Harry and Rachel holding hands. "I didn't think that was possible. Of course, her mother's a mudblood, just like yours, Potter." Rachel lunged forward to attack him, but Harry held her back.

"He's not worth it." Harry held Rachel until she finally dropped her arms to her sides and turned in the opposite direction. "He's just being a jerk. I wouldn't even pay attention to him." Harry grasped Rachel's hand and led her to the front of the corral that Hagrid used to showcase his animals. In the middle of the fairly large corral, Hagrid was fumbling with the lock on a covered cage. 

"This can't be good. If _Hagrid_ covered the cage, we know something _really_ dangerous is in there." Ron muttered, nervously. Hermione opened a large textbook, entitled _The Ministry of Magic's Guide to Magical Creatures_. The huge volume was two thousand pages long… at least. Ron eyed it with distaste "Hermione, _what_ are you doing with that?" Hermione looked at Ron like he had a third eye. 

"I'm going to find out how dangerous these creatures really are. I asked Percy -- or Weatherby, as he was affectionately called -- to find this book for me. It contains descriptions and pictures of every magical creature known to the Ministry. I'll just ask Hagrid what the beast is and then I'll find an accurate description of it." She motioned for Hagrid to come over.

The giant came over to them and promptly saw Harry and Rachel holding hands. He smiled and winked at Harry. "Atta boy, 'arry." Harry blushed and looked over at Rachel, who was smiling. "So," Hagrid said, addressing Hermione, "what are yeh 'aving trouble with?" 

"I was wondering what creatures are being held in that cage." Hermione looked at Hagrid innocently. He wouldn't take it the right way if she told him that she just wanted to know if they were dangerous. Hagrid's definition of "dangerous" was a little hard to go by, anyway.

"Ahh, yeh want ter get a 'ead start? That's my 'ermione, always thinkin'." He looked at her proudly, for Hermione was probably his best student and he couldn't deny her the chance to learn something more. "They're woogs." Hagrid said, pointing at the cage. "Mighty strange little fellas." 

"Thank you Hagrid." Hermione smiled sweetly as the giant resumed his work opening the cage. When he was out of earshot, she gasped, exasperated. "He called them strange! Do you know what that means?" She continued, answering her own question, when no one else did. "It means that these are either terribly dangerous or they have habits that are terribly dangerous. Either way, it's not good for us!" She opened the large book to the beginning of the "W" page and proceeded to look for "Woog." "I've got it!" she said, triumphantly, and started reading aloud.

__

Woog

Danger Rating: None (These creatures are too mild to require one)

Woogs are rather furry creatures, found mostly in the Australian outback. They grow to be the size of a basketball and sprout a thick coat of long fur. There are many varieties of woog, all following the same eating and living patterns. Woogs lack magical abilities.

Woogs have an extremely limited vocabulary. The only word they have been known to speak is "woog," hence the species name. Though woogs are docile creatures, a feral woog may be hard to tame. 

The average woog lives to the age of fifteen; however, woogs have been known to live as long as twenty-five. This is rare and should not be considered normal. Woogs eat fruits and vegetables, so long as they are slices into pieces the size of grapes. 

Ron laughed after Hermione finished reading, only to be silenced by her glare. "Well, how was I supposed to know that Hagrid would come to his senses and pick a normal animal for us to study!" She looked at the now-open cage and laughed, in spite of her anger at Ron. There were about ten furry balls that came stumbling out on short legs. 

Rachel gasped with delight as she saw the little woogs playing amongst themselves. Hagrid started speaking to the assembled class. "These are woogs. They're completely 'armless and 'ard to domesticate. Yer assignment fer the next two weeks will be ter domesticate one of these little beauties." Hagrid picked one up and made baby noises at it. "These woogs are a few weeks old, so they aren't used ter 'umans. Yer gonna work in groups of two ter make sure these guys acclimate properly. That means yer all gonna be actin' as their parents. We 'ave an odd number, so one group will 'ave three people."

Rachel and Harry were already holding hands, so Hermione and Ron went up tp Hagrid and got their woog. The little fur ball cooed and then squealed "Woog!" Both Gryffindors burst out laughing, which puzzled the little creature.

Everyone now had a partner, except a girl who Rachel didn't know. She was easily 5'10" – one inch taller than Rachel and two shorter than Harry – and had dark brown, shoulder-length hair. The other girl walked over to Rachel and Harry and smiled shyly. "Hi." she said. "I'm Jill Broomscuttle. May I work with you two, please?" She looked at them reproachfully. 

Harry smiled warmly; he had seen this girl around over the past few years. She was shy and had a few friends, but they had never officially met. "Sure you can work with us! I'm Harry Potter, and this is Rachel Witt." 

"Thank you! Sorry to dump myself on you, but friend is sick today, she's allergic to nuts, and didn't realize that there were nuts in the muffins this morning." 

Rachel was a little peeved that she and Harry wouldn't be working alone, but maybe she could use this opportunity to make more friends. "I'm sorry to hear about your friend, I hope she's better soon." 

"She's fine now. She only needed to swallow some potion Snape brewed for her, but you know how Madame Pomfrey is." 

Rachel laughed at this and smiled at the memory of Madame Pomfrey pouring medicine after medicine into Rachel's mouth after she had passed out a few weeks ago. _The woman has no sense of control_ she thought to herself.

The three students went up to Hagrid and received the small Woog. "The runt." Hagrid said wistfully. "No one wanted him." 

Rachel took the squirming creature in her arms. "What should we name him?"

"How about Harry." Said Ron, wickedly. He had snuck up behind them as they were talking with Hagrid. Rachel giggled as Harry playfully punched Ron in the shoulder. Jill was politely trying to hide a smile behind her hand.

"That's enough." Rachel laughed when the bantering continued. "We have to name this little guy! Ron, go back with Hermione. She's getting impatient." 

"Yes, mother." Ron said, feigning insult. Rachel glared and Ron flashed her a smile and jogged back to where Hermione was waiting irritably. Rachel giggled as she watched Hermione chastise Ron. 

"How about Newton." suggested Jill. "This is a handsome woog, and I think the name fits him."

Rachel thought about it, and agreed. "Harry, unless you have an objection, his name is Newton." 

"That's cool." Harry could care less what they named the woog, so long as he was able to work with Rachel. 

Rachel started babbling to the creature. "Hello, Newton. You are a very special woog. You are very lucky because you have Harry and Jill and I to take care of you." Harry and Jill were staring at her strangely. "What? I was just talking to him."

"Do you have any idea what you were saying?" Jill looked at Rachel strangely. "You were just saying 'woog' in different pitches and rhythms. It sounded like woog-speak." She smiled at Rachel nervously; this American was crazy. No one talked to animals like that, except for parseltongues, but this wasn't a snake. "Rachel, you sounded like you knew what you were saying. It's almost like you were parseltongue – only with woogs."

Harry glanced at Rachel quickly, signaling her to play along. "How could she know what she was saying? I'm sure she was just imitating woog talk to make our Newton feel comfortable." 

"Of course! I have no idea whether or not I actually said anything to him in his own language. I was just trying to be friendly." Rachel bit her lip. She really had been speaking woog! That was just too strange. And she couldn't help but notice the way Harry cringed when Jill had mentioned parseltongues. Did she and Harry have another thing in common, the ability to speak with animals? 

"I feel like Dr. Doolittle." She admitted to her friends. "Only I have no idea what I said and in the books (and movie), he did. Oh, well." 

***

At the first Quidditch practice, Rachel clung to Harry like a bur. She was incredibly nervous. What if the team changed their minds about her and said she couldn't play with them anymore? She would be heartbroken. Quidditch was one of her connections to Harry. They could talk about the different strategies and matches together. If she weren't on the team, she would lose that link. 

"Rachel, hi!" Jill came jogging up to her while Harry was polishing his Firebolt. That was the other thing she was nervous about; she didn't have a broom. "You don't have a broom? Neither do I. Katie says that for now, we can borrow the old Cleansweep Sevens, but we'll need to have our own by the first match."

"Hi. How did you know that I don't have a broom?" This girl seemed to know everything!

"Um, you're not carrying one and we're supposed to bring our own brooms to the Quidditch practices. Are you feeling okay?"

"Oh. I'm fine, just a bit tired." Rachel stammered. She was being paranoid now, assuming that everyone knew her secret. She had to relax or people would suspect something. 

"Okay. Let's go to the equipment closet and get some brooms! When we go into Hogsmeade, we can get our own brooms." Jill was so perky! It almost annoyed Rachel, but then she realized that she was just tired. 

__

I'd better watch out what I say to people she thought. _I don't want to lose a friend because I'm so uptight about this whole omnimagus thing._ Rachel followed Jill into the closet and picked put a broom. It was worn, but looked sturdy enough for a few practices.

"I've got one." She told Jill, waiting for the other girl. "Me too!" Was the answer that followed. Both girls headed onto the Quidditch pitch to begin their first practice. 

***

Quidditch practice had been more than fun. Since it was their first practice, Katie and Angelina had set all four balls loose and proclaimed "Every man for him-self!" They had a fabulous time scoring with the Quaffle and beating Bludgers towards one another. In the end, only two people had caught the Snitch, Rachel and Harry.

After practice, Rachel had pulled Harry aside in the Library; a place that she knew they wouldn't be bothered in. People rarely came into the library (aside from Hermione) and when they did come, they stayed for only a few minutes, selecting the book(s) they need and then leaving. She chose a small table in the back and sat down. Harry followed her example. She rested her chin on her elbow, looked Harry square in the eyes and simply stated, "I talked to a woog."

"I know." Harry seemed lost for a moment, as if thinking about other things.

"No. I thought I was speaking English; however, Jill tells me differently. I'm a freak!" She leaned back in her chair and hung her head. 

Harry lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "You are not a freak. I'm sure talking to animals is just another part of being an omnimagus."

"No." she said flatly. "She compared me to a parseltongue! Parseltongues are shunned by all! If anyone found out and made the connection, I would be considered lower than, than… Oh, I don't know!" A single tear fell from her eye and trickled down her cheek. From what she had learned at P.S.E.M, parseltongues were associated with the Dark Arts. That was the last thing she wanted to be linked to. 

Harry wiped the tear from her cheek and let out a sigh. She was really stressed about this and he didn't know how to make her feel better. The only thing he could do was to tell her his own previously revealed secret. "I am a parseltongue." Harry smiled a little at Rachel's shocked gasp. "That's right. In my second year, when the basilisk wreaked havoc, there was a dueling club. Draco set a snake loose to try and scare me; only it almost attacked another boy. When I tried to call it off, the students thought I was commanding it. Without knowing it, I was speaking snake. Anyways, people thought I was Slytherin's heir for a while, but that soon died down when people who were close to me—namely Hermione—were attacked."

Rachel shuddered a little and looked at her friend. He was telling the truth, she could see that in his eyes. They held a pained look that could not be feigned. "What happened?" 

"Well, the taunting was ephemeral, but the reputation was lingering. It took a while for people to fully trust me again, but I'm fine. See, parseltongues aren't all bad."

"No, I guess they're not." Rachel smiled, a devilish glint in her eyes. "And some of them are pretty cute!" She tapped Harry on the nose with her index finger and started running towards the door. 

"Not so fast!" Harry called as he grabbed her around the waist. "Evidently your feet are not so quick as your wit." He remarked playfully. 

She laughed, turning around to face him. Her face became somber. "Thank you for being such a good friend." She brushed away another tear and hugged Harry tightly. 

***

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Jill, how can you not love this chapter? (If only Liz and Lindsey could read it!) Please review with your not-so-humble opinion.

To everyone out there, thanks for the nice reviews! :) I really appreciate them! I'm open to suggestions, too. So if you have an idea for the story, let me know! 


	9. 'The Silver Apples of the Moon, The Gold...

****

Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter

Chapter Nine

********** ********** ********** ********** **********

In late October, the first scheduled visit to Hogsmeade was held. Each and every eligible student brought as much money as they saw fit to spend on candy, jokes and—In Rachel and Jill's cases—Quidditch supplies. 

Rachel, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Jill were standing outside the Three Broomsticks, making plans. They only had two hours to spend in this utopia; so they had to plan well. "I am going to send a card to Viktor." Hermione announced to the others. "I'll be back in ten minutes." She strode off towards the owlry and the others continued scheduling their short reprieve from school. 

"Jill and I need to buy brooms!" Rachel declared. She and Jill started giggling as they remembered the mishaps from last week's practices. Even Harry had to laugh at their childish antics. The previous Wednesday, the whole team participated in a Bludger-blocking drill. The Weasley twins would beat the Bludgers towards their teammates, who were flying around the pitch, and the rest of the team would try to avoid the onslaught. 

As most people know, Cleansweep Sevens are, to say the least, slow brooms. These brooms also handle turning very poorly, especially quick, sharp turns. Jill and Rachel were both listening to Lee Jordan tell jokes over the magical microphone. They hadn't been paying attention to their flying and, before their brooms responded to the commands to turn, they crashed. To make matters worse, as they tumbled to the ground, both Bludgers smashed into them.

Both girls came out relatively unscathed, after Madame Pomfrey had healed their broken arms and sprained ankles. They had been released from the infirmary on Friday and were banned from playing Quidditch for five days, as ordered by Madame Pomfrey. 

The two brooms fared much worse. Bristles and splinters from the handles were strewn all about the pitch. Angelina had ordered both girls to buy new brooms, immediately. She had mentioned that the school's Quidditch funs would pay for a percentage because the Cleansweeps—though technically not theirs—had been broken by a Bludger accident (Or so Harry said to Madame Hooch. After all, it was partially true). 

Jill and Rachel skipped off to the Quidditch supply store and left Ron and Harry standing in the middle of the shopping center. "Well, we haven't really been to Zonko's in a while." Harry mused, sneaking a sly glance at Ron.

Ron gave him the thumbs-up. "Dungbombs rule!" he shouted, a little too loudly. The entire crowd in the streets looked at them for an awkward minute. Harry smiled nervously at the crowd and, with Ron, ducked into Zonko's.

***

There were so many brooms to choose from! Rachel and Jill had an incredibly hard time deciding. Rachel had her heart set on the Firebolt, until she saw the price tag. Finally the girls decided on Snitch Snatchers, the newest model by Flyte and Barker. After the purchases, their purses were fifty Galleons lighter.

"Can you believe the prices on those brooms? I could have bought a thousand butterbeers for the cost of a Firebolt!" Jill cried in dismay. Rachel, who, coming from America, was more used to price inflation than her British friend, merely replied.

"I've seen worse. You should come to the sporting stores in America. Out there, you'd be better off having someone rob you blind then purchase a broom in the stores. In the end, both situations have the same result."

Jill laughed and replied, lightheartedly. "You don't think that I would put myself at risk like that! I think I'll stay to shopping in Britain. Now come," she said, in a more serious tone, "I would like to purchase a few books." She grabbed Rachel's wrist and pulled her into the nearby bookstore.

***

Hermione stood at the counter in the owlry and added the last sentence to her letter. Looking satisfied, she read it once over to the owl that would be delivering it.

__

Dear Viktor,

It has been so long since I have seen you; too long, in fact. I miss your strong accent and the companionship you provided. I am not totally without you, though. I follow your Quidditch career via the Daily Prophet_. Please write back to me as soon as you find time._

Love Always,

Your Devoted Hermione

"How's that?" she asked the owl. He replied with the flick of his talons. Taking that as a good sign, Hermione kissed the paper by her signature and rolled the parchment into a scroll. She tied the scroll with her hair ribbon and proceeded to instruct the owl on the precise location of Durmstrang, for though the location is secret, Viktor had disclosed this information to her before he left. 

The owl nodded, indicating that, yes, he knew where Durmstrang was. The girls smiled and the owl flew from his perch into the azure sky.

***

In the bookstore, Rachel and Jill were waiting in line to be checked out. Each girl had chosen several novels to read during downtime and a reference book. Jill had selected _Quidditch Through the Ages_ while Rachel had quietly picked _The Ultimate Guide to Omnimages: Everything You Need to Know and Even Stuff You Don't. _When Jill had looked at her quizzically Rachel had quickly created a lied, saying that she was doing an extra credit assignment for Professor Stapf. Jill had looked at her dubiously, but kept her mouth shut.

Rachel had been quite mysterious lately and had parried any questions directed towards her. Her friends had accepted this; Rachel was just a little eccentric, they thought. Harry, of course, knew her secret and guarded it well. In fact, Hermione, Ron and Jill would know a lot more about Rachel's abilities if it had not been for Harry's constant defense of his friend. Now, Jill just played the usual game of ask and duck. She didn't even press Rachel for the real answer.

At the checkout counter, the man looked at their selections. "That'll be 10 galleons. You bought ten books, so you get the discount." He said this in a blasé tone, as if every customer had bought ten books. Disregarding his attitude, each girl placed five galleons on the counter and took the sack the books had been thrown into. 

"He didn't even take off the security tags?" Rachel said incredulously. "In America, if we were to walk out the door, the alarm system would be beeping quite loudly." She looked at Jill matter-of-factly, and then added, "I wonder what would happen if someone were to shoplift?" 

"I don't know. I'll admit that." Jill answered, shrugging. The boy in front of them stepped over the threshold of the store and into the street. The book that was concealed under his robes began shrieking "I BELONG TO THE HOGSMEADE BOOK NOOK!" repeatedly. 

"Well," said Rachel, with an ironic smile, "I guess we know the answer to that." They laughed and stepped around the boy who was begrudgingly writing out a check to the storeowner. 

When both girls were in the sunny street, Rachel checked her watch. "We have to meet the guys in a half hour, but I say we surprise them now. If we were guys—which we're not—where would we go?" The silliness of the question set in and both girls, without saying a word, headed off to Zonko's.

***

Friday was the first Quidditch match of the year, and of course, the first game was between the two main rivals, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Rachel was all prepared; she had done fabulous at the last few practices, even playing Seeker when a Bludger knocked Harry off his broom. He said that he "just hadn't seen it." Ron, who witnessed the accident, later told Rachel that Harry had been distracted; he had been staring at her! 

Though the match was big, neither Katie nor Angelina appeared to be the slightest bit nervous. The called a team meeting that morning in the middle of the pitch and talked strategy. Katie had mentioned that lately, Draco couldn't see as well (he needed glasses, but refused to submit to his doctor's orders—for fear of looking "like a nerd") and Harry would have the advantage as Seeker. Then Angelina had talked about Gryffindor having tighter defense and that she had been to a Slytherin practice recently (Though she never said how she snuck in, the glint in Harry's eyes let everyone believe that somehow, the invisibility cloak had been involved.)

So Friday came around, and Rachel was ready. She didn't have to prepare much; being a substitute only required her to sit on a bench and make sure no one from her team was injured. She would also help to keep track of how many points each person scored. It was a relatively easy job.

Professor McGonagall had led Rachel into the commentary box, where Lee Jordan would narrate the match. He was a fairly handsome guy with a great sense of humor, and he was dedicated to this sport. Rachel had smiled at the Weasley twins' friend and sat down next to him, slowly extending her hand to be shaken. Lee had, with a dashing look upon her face, taken her hand in his own and lowered his face to it, kissing it lightly. Rachel, with a bout of flirtatious energy, had blushed and giggled. 

The stadium was filled with fans that didn't want to miss the first Quidditch match of the year. Rachel felt a pang of homesickness as she watched the crowd. Some of the parents had come to watch. She knew that hers wouldn't be there. She hadn't even told them that she made the team. In fact, unless Aunt Megan had sent them an owl, they didn't even know she was at Hogwarts. 

It wasn't her parents that really pulled on her heartstrings; it was Aunt Megan and Morgan. Rachel hadn't seen her parents in over ten years. They were always on an assignment for the Ministry. Now, as much as she tried, she couldn't even remember them. Sure, she had pictures, but she couldn't recall the sounds of their voices or the way they laughed. All she could remember was that they were always gone. Aunt Megan, on the other hand, had been there all Rachel's life. _She_ had been the one to teach Rachel how to read and to cast her first spell. It was Aunt Megan, with help from Morgan, who had taught Rachel to fly on a broom. Her aunt and sister had been closer to her than her parents, even when she was an infant.

Morgan had always told Rachel how, on the day she was born, their parents had left aunt Megan with the two girls and gone to Transylvania on a Ministry Assignment, to come back three years later. Rachel was never sure if this was true, but it would explain why there were no pictures of Rachel with her parents until she was three. And anyways, Morgan wouldn't make up a story like that if she knew it would hurt Rachel, which it had. 

Rachel was awakened from her thoughts by the protests of Lee Jordan to Madame Hooch over a bad call. The game had started and Rachel hadn't even noticed! She sat on the bench, watching her teammates fly through the air, scoring goals and whacking Bludgers towards the Slytherins. 

The game seemed to go on for quite a while. Though Angelina had been right about Gryffindor having better defense (and offense, for that matter), Slytherin played dirty. They passed by no chance to try and injure Gryffindor. At some times, Rachel even hoped that someone on her team would be injured so that she could play in their stead. The score was 30-10 Slytherin; it didn't look good for Gryffindor. Madame Hooch had blown her whistle so many times on the Slytherin team that they didn't even pay attention anymore. The match had turned from semi-friendly competition to a ruthless battle for victory. Rachel's mouth dropped open as she watched Malfoy dive at Angelina with a glint of malice in his eyes.

"Watch out Angelina!" Lee shouted into the microphone. Angelina looked up just in time to swerve sideways. Lee turned to Rachel and covered the microphone with his hand. "I'm glad you're not playing in this one. It' s the most dangerous match I've seen in years." He grimaced as Katie Bell was hit with a Bludger. The Chaser gave Madame Hooch the thumbs-up signal to indicate that she was okay. 

"I agree. As mush I would love to play in a game, it's just to overwhelming right now. I think I would like to attend a few more practices before diving into this." Lee laughed at Rachel's honesty. 

"Well, at least you didn't lie like the rest of the team does when they're nervous or anxious about a match." Lee turned back to the microphone and started yelling, "Potter caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins!" 

***

Hermione and Rachel sat in the library, holding their report cards in font of them. Hermione had a calm smile on her face, as she stared at the columns on A+'s that graced the page. Rachel's expression, however, was more of astonishment. 

"What's wrong? You don't look very happy, and I know for a fact that you got at least five A's." Hermione wasn't sure if she cared what her friend's grades were, ad long as they were not as high as her own. She was not about to give her role as the smartest Gryffindor away, especially to Rachel, who seemed to have it all anyway. 

"Muggle Studies." Rachel groaned, glaring at the parchment. "C+. That's the worst grade I've ever gotten in my life, and it's in Muggle Studies! Why didn't I take Divination! It's so simple. In fact, anything that's remotely magical is simple. However, as soon as I try something that's not magic-related, I fail miserably." She quickly brushed away a tear that had fallen onto her cheek. 

"Is that the worst grade?" Hermione was feeling a little sorry now. A C+ was pretty bad for such a simple class. 

"Yes, it's the worst. The rest are A's and a few B's." She sighed, once again glaring at the offending grade.

"Well, Muggle Studies is an easy class, maybe you just need to focus more. I mean, I do great in that class because I pay attention and listen to every detail." Hermione said, matter-of-factly. Rachel glared at her.

"You're Muggle-born, for goodness sake. The lifestyle we study in that class is what is in your own home! You watch the telly at night, you use the Internet, you cook with a macrowave oven…"

"_Micro_wave oven." Hermione interrupted. 

"Whatever! That's your life! It's not mine. I'm going to drop it and take Divination." She started to walk off but Hermione grabbed her arm.

"You don't have to drop the class, I can help you." 

"I just don't get Muggle Studies. It's not like I'm stupid, or anything. It's just that… there's a wall there." Rachel looked at her friend, daring her to comment. Hermione took up the challenge. 

"No, of course you're not stupid. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here. You just have an Achilles heel. Basically, you're not a goddess. But, I can help you. Over Christmas break, if you want, you can come over to my house and I'll give you a live demonstration. Okay?" Hermione looked at Rachel's sad face. She pitied a girl who didn't even know what the Internet was. Rachel would love email. 

"Really? You mean it? Would your parents mind?" Rachel inquired. 

"My parents already said it was okay for me to invite friends over Christmas break, I asked them about a month ago. I'm going to invite Harry and Ron, too. We'll stay at my house for a few days and then come back here a few days before classes start again. Harry can definitely come, he's not welcome at his home, and Ron can come, too. The only question I have is with your parents. Whom do I send the owl to?" 

Rachel fidgeted with her hands and looked at the table. "Um, well, my parents don't even know I'm at Hogwarts. I haven't seen them since I was…" she scrunched her nose, thinking, "five. I live with my Aunt Megan, on my dad's side. She's twenty-seven, do it's really just one big party at our house. Oh, yes. You can send it to Megan Witt 125 Millbrook Lane, Andover, MA 01810. She should reply within a few days." Rachel had deliberately made only a brief mention of her parents. She didn't want Hermione pitying her. After all, it wasn't liker her parents were dead, like Harry's. She didn't deserve the pity.

"I'm sorry about your parents. You must miss them a lot." 

"Don't be. I hardly remember them. Aunt Megan and my sister Morgan are my family. Well, along with my owl, Merlin and you guys." Rachel whispered the last few words. This was getting too emotional. The only time she had allowed herself to be this open was with Harry, and that's the way she wanted it. She considered Harry her boyfriend, and boyfriends were supposed to know everything about you, regular friends weren't. 

***

Hermione rapped her spoon against her milk goblet at breakfast. "I have to tell you guys something significant." She took a deep breath. "Viktor and I broke up." She started sobbing into her pancakes. Rachel patted Hermione on the shoulder.

"Oh, Hermione, pull yourself together. You never get so emotional."

Hermione wiped her eyes and took another deep breath. "You're right. I shouldn't get so worked up just because I broke up with my first boyfriend." She started bawling again. 

Ron snorted. "He was just your boyfriend. It's not like you _married_ him or anything. And anyways, if _you_ broke up with _him_, instead of the other way around, then he couldn't have been all that great." Leave it to boys to be insensitive. 

Rachel glared at Ron, as Hermione's sobs grew louder. Then she stopped and wiped her eyes again. "Okay. I'm fine now. I'll tell you what happened. Remember how I sent him a letter when we went to Hogsmeade?" The three friends nodded, how could they forget, it had only been two weeks ago. "Well, he wrote me back and…" She broke off the sentence with more wailing and handed Rachel a piece of parchment. Rachel began to read it.

__

Dear Hermione,

I did not expect to hear from you. I cannot say that I am not pleased, but I certainly am surprised. Your letter was written with devotion and whilst I wish I could do the same, it is not possible. You see, Hermione, I have completed my seven years at Durmstrang and I have decided that it is no longer appropriate for us to be seeing each other. I hope you understand and that we can always remain friends.

Your Dearest Friend,

Viktor Krum

When Rachel had finished reading the letter and had passed it on to Harry and Ron, Hermione spoke again. "I thought we would be together forever. I had forgotten that he was in his seventh year when I met him!" she wailed.

"I am so sorry, Hermione. This is terrible, and he wrote it so eloquently!" Harry, who had finished reading it, nodded in agreement,

"He really let you down hard, didn't he?" 

Ron, looking sheepish, muttered, "Oh, so really, he dumped you. I'm sorry." 

"That's okay, I know you were just being a boy." Hermione had meant his as an insult, but Ron obviously thought it meant Hermione had accepted his apology. 

"Thanks! He said cheerfully and stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth. Hermione and Rachel rolled their eyes and even Harry looked a little appalled. 

***

Professor Dumbledore stood up at the teacher's table and waved a piece of parchment in the air. "Attention!" he called, in his surprisingly strong tenor. "May I please have your attention? I have an important announcement to make involving a school dance." The hall went silent. It had been a week since Hermione and Viktor had broken up –Hermione still refused to believe that she had been dumped—so she no longer sobbed during meals.

When Dumbledore was sure that all of the eyes in the room were focused on him, he continued. "This year, we will be having a Harvest Ball. Two weeks after the Halloween Banquet, on the Saturday, we will celebrate this year's good harvest with a feast, dance and festivities. Yes, the dance will be semi-formal so not only do you need to wear something nice, but you are expected to come to the dance as couples," Rachel could have sworn that Dumbledore's eyes flickered in her and Harry's direction, "but it is not necessary. However, you wouldn't want to feel left out on the dance floor. And, of course, the Weird Sisters will be serenading us." 

Rachel looked up at Harry, amazed. "They Weird Sisters are coming _here_?" Harry nodded absently; he was getting sick of the Weird Sister's strange tunes. "Sweet! I haven't seen them live and…" 

Ron cut her off, "Well, you're not missing much." 

Rachel glared and continued talking. "Last year I got *NSYNC tickets, and I thought that wsa the coolest thing, but the _Weird Sister_? I just don't believe it!" 

Ron looked baffled. "Who's In Sinks?" Now it was Hermione and Rachel's turn to look amazed. 

"Who is NSYNC?" Hermione said the words slowly, stressing each syllable. "NSYNC is only the best boy band to ever take the stage." 

"I can't believe you've never heard of *NSYNC! Even I've heard of *NSYNC." That was Harry. 

Ron looked exasperated. "You guys all live in Muggle households. I've never heard of any Muggle bands!" 

Rachel looked at him skeptically. "Firstly, we are all witches in my household, thank you very much. Secondly, don't feel too bad about *NSYNC, I didn't mean to insult you." She looked at him, hoping he would forgive her. She couldn't stand it if one of her friends were mad at her. 

"Hi everyone." Rachel jumped in her seat. Jill had snuck up behind them and was smiling brightly. Ron blushed.

"Hi!" Rachel returned the greeting, cheerfully. 

"Ron, may I talk to you, in, um… private?" She looked at him hopefully. Ron stood up and walked with her to a cluster of empty chairs at the end of the table. From what Rachel could see, there were a few minutes of nervous conversation followed by Jill asking Ron a question, Ron blushing and then nodding his head vigorously. The two walked back to the table and smiled. 

"I'm taking Jill to the Harvest Ball." Ron announced proudly. This time, Jill blushed. Rachel and Harry smiled, but Hermione only gave a half smile before turning back to her breakfast. 

"It's not fair!" she whispered to Rachel. "All the guys are taken so quickly!" 

Rachel leaned towards her and whispered back, "It's not like you were seriously considering Ron as a potential boyfriend, though. Right?" 

"You're right. It's just that I thought he would at least ask me so that we could go as friends, seeing as he didn't have a girlfriend and I don't have a boyfriend. I suppose I was just being silly." 

"Of course you were! There are plenty of guys who would like to go to the dance with you, we just have to look harder." Rachel gave Hermione a reassuring look. There was bound to be one guy in this school that would like Hermione. It didn't really matter too much if Hermione didn't like him.

Hermione looked doubtful. "Look at my hair!" she cried, "It's so bushy, I look like a bird's nest gone horribly wrong."

"That's not true, and anyways, one of my aunt's friends owns a beauty salon. I'm sure we could get your hair straightened and relaxed for free." 

"Really? You'd help me to find a date?" 

"Well, you're helping me learn how to use a macrowave."

"Microwave." Hermione corrected.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Jill, can you believe I managed to sneak your quote from science class in this? (Even more amazing—I finished before 9:00) 


	10. 'Friends, Romans, Countrymen...'

**Harry Potter and the Chalice of the Enchanter******

Chapter Ten

********** ********** ********** ********** **********

***

Hermione flinched as the chemical smells reached her nose. She couldn't remember if the beauty salon had always smelled that bad, or if the odor was incredibly strong now because her hair was being straightened. Rachel had convinced Hermione that a hair stylist could tame her wild hair; Hermione, desperate, would have agreed to anything at that point.

"You look great, hon." The hairstylist said with a thick Cockney accent. Hermione looked at the woman dubiously; she seriously questioned this statement. Firstly, she had putrid smelling chemicals seeping through a plastic shower cap that was covering her head, secondly, the women who had given the compliment had bright green hair that was gelled into spikes. After several minutes, Hermione decided to disregard whatever the women said. It was the only logical thing to do.

The hairstylist looked back at her, offended. "What? I've already told you, the hair is for Halloween, it's in two days, and I just wanted to look festive."

"Okay, just don't do anything like that on me. Please!" The last thing Hermione wanted was to look completely conspicuous. She wasn't really sure that she wanted to go through with the whole beauty thing anyways, but Rachel had been so eager to help her, that she just couldn't turn her down.

Harry was whom Hermione had in mind for the Harvest Ball. Ever since Viktor had dumped her, she felt a connection with him. Hermione knew it would crush Rachel, so she had merely "forgotten" to mention it earlier. She did plan on eventually telling her, but now wasn't the time. She stifled a smile as she thought of Harry.  If she smiled too much, Rachel might get the idea that Hermione had someone in mind, and Hermione didn't want to tell her just yet. 

*** ***

Rachel walked over to her chair. "Whom are you thinking about? Don't give me that look, I know when someone is thinking about a guy. I can read it in their face," she smiled slyly. This was perfect! If Hermione already had a boy in mind, Rachel could get her matchmaking duties over with and ask Harry.

"So, who is he?" She looked closer at Hermione's face, as if trying to gauge the mystery guy just by the expression her friend wore.

Hermione smiled. "I don't want to reveal any information, in case it doesn't work out, but..." she paused, trying to gather the right words to say without completely giving away Harry's identity, "I think he's in love with someone else."

"Oh. Has he asked her to the ball yet?" Rachel was determined to get her friend this date.

"No, he hasn't. He might, though, and he's the only boy that I really want to go with."

"Well, then you'd had better ask quickly." Rachel smiled, reassuringly. "Plus, if he really liked this other girl, he would have asked her already, wouldn't he?" She reflected on this idea, and than shrank back from her own statement. _If Harry really liked you, he would have asked you._ _No, this is different, _she argued against herself, _this isn't Harry I'm talking about. This is another boy. Harry just doesn't want to screw up the friendship. He'll ask when he's ready._ She took a deep breath and stepped out of the way as the hairdresser came back.

***

"It looks fabulous!" Rachel crooned excitedly as Hermione surveyed her new hairdo in the oversized salon mirror. Her bushy brown hair was now straight and sleek, with a chestnut shine running through it. _Hermione is beautiful. It's amazing how nobody has asked her out. _Rachel said to herself.

"Thanks." Hermione said, twirling a curl of hair around her finger. "I'm glad you like it. I was afraid that I would look strange with straight hair."

"Are you kidding? You look great! Whoever this guy is, he will melt when he sees you." Rachel grinned brightly and Hermione blushed.

"You really think so?" she asked dubiously. "I never really thought about it that much before. My hair never bothered Viktor." 

"I know so! Now, we have to get you some accessories to wear with your Hogwarts robes!" Rachel pulled Hermione out of the salon by her wrist and dragged her into the small fashion shop across the crowded London Street.

***

"This guy had better be worth it." Rachel frowned slightly, looking at the pile of earrings, bracelets, rings, hair clips and necklaces that had assembled on Hermione's bed.

"Oh, he is." Hermione whispered, half answering Rachel's question and half talking to herself.

"Good, because If I had just spent twenty Galleons, I would want it to be for a good cause."

Hermione looked up, eyes widening. "Twenty Galleons!" she croaked. "I won't be able to buy anything for a year!"

"That's right, so if this guys says 'no' after all the trouble we've gone through, I will make him pay us the twenty galleons, knut by knut."

Hermione giggled; Rachel, like most Americans, was blunt, never scooting around what she wanted to say, never making her speeches flowery. That was one quality that Hermione admired. She hoped that Rachel would understand when she asked Harry to the dance. __

***

"Ow!" Rachel popped her thumb in her mouth and stepped away from the bubbling cauldron.

"Miss Witt! I expect that while the class is trying to concentrate on potions, you could at least control your outbursts." Professor Snape barked from the front of the room.

Rachel looked at him angrily. "I burned my thumb and yelped, I hardly call that and outburst!"

"If little Rachel burned her poor little thumb, I think she should go to the nurse." Draco smiled cruelly from over his cauldron, which was boiling over and spilling an orange goop onto the stone floor.

Rachel returned his smile with an icy stare. "Professor, I think that If Draco is given the privilege to openly insult other students, he should at least have the skills to be able to follow the directions you give. Of course, that would require some intelligence, which he clearly lacks."

"That is enough, Miss Witt! 10 points from Gryffindor! If you can not control your temper, you will have to have a chat with Professor Dumbledore." The Professor pointed to the doorway before Rachel had time to protest her dismissal from class. 

"And thus ends another Potions lesson." Rachel muttered as she stormed from the room to Dumbledore's office. 

***

"So, Rachel, I hear that you are insubordinate, and I quote, 'can not be controlled.' Do you know anything about this?" 

Rachel was about to protest, when she saw the sly twinkle in the headmaster's eyes. She immediately relaxed. "Now, I know that Professor Snape, has a tendency to favor some students over others. "He also…"

"Detests any non-Slytherin. Yes, I think that's how I'd put it." Rachel finished. Madame Pomfrey had healed her thumb before she entered Dumbledore's office and now she sat in front of the large desk. 

Professor Dumbledore seemed to reflect upon this and then shook his head slightly. "No, that's not quite it. Though he is a harsher on Gryffindors, he is not entirely unfair. I would recommend not doing anything that you know will make him mad. Now, moving on to a more cheerful subject. Would you care for a lemon drop?" he asked, pulling out a small tin from one of the drawers and popping a small, yellow sphere into his mouth.

Rachel shook her head. "No, thank you. I have never been much of a fan of lemon."

"Well, suit yourself," he shrugged and replaced the container into the desk. "I have been talking to Professor Stapf and she suggested that you take private lessons from her, on being and omnimagus."

"Private lessons, whatever would I need those for?" Rachel inquired, curiously.

"Well, if you don't take lessons, she at least wants you to read this." He handed her a large book. She read the title, '_The Quest For the Cup'_.

"This is about the Holy Grail. Why would I want to read this?" 

He smiled mischievously. "Let us put it this way, the Holy Grail is called by many names and is known in many forms. You're a smart girl, I think you can figure it out from here."

Rachel stood up, slightly confused, and thanked Dumbledore before she left the room. "Ah, yes, one more thing!" he called after her. "Professor McGonagall has suggested that, since you know so much about Transfiguration, you may skip classes and go to the library to study." he winked and left her to wonder why on earth she would be excused from classes.

***

"Happy Halloween!" Rachel announced excitedly during breakfast. "And, as a reminder," her eyes focused on Harry for a moment, "the Harvest Ball is in two weeks. So, if you ever want to find a date, guys, ask within the next few days." She popped a piece of buttered toast in her mouth and stood up. Well, It's time for Defense Against the Dark Arts, so we should get going."

"Oh, fun!" Ron announced in a falsely cheery voice. "I get to learn more!" Hermione whacked the back of his head. "Ow!" he yelped, throwing up his hands to block the inevitable second blow.

"You baby." she muttered, walking off to class,

***

Rachel slowly walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with the rest of the sleepy Gryffindors. "Well, good morning!" Mrs. Stapf said, gleefully. like someone who had had too many mugs of coffee.

"Good morning." was the mumbled reply.

"Well, we're a little tired this morning, aren't we?" The professor scanned the sleepy faces and sighed, ever so slightly. "Well, let's start the lesson. Today we're learning to duel. I heard that a few years ago, a dueling club was started, but never amounted to anything. Now dueling is an important aspect of wizarding life. It is held in high regard, much like bull fighting in Spain. This sport is greatly respected. However, not many people teach dueling anymore in a classroom situation, which is rather a shame... because it is so much fun to put your friends in a full body bind." The class laughed; they were waking up. "So, I would like you to pair off."

Hermione looked over at Harry, a look of innocence plastered to her face. "Harry," she said sweetly, "Will you work with me?"

Harry, oblivious to her flirtatious behavior, gave Rachel a helpless look and said to Hermione, "Sure."

Hermione smiled and took Harry to a corner of the room that was far from where Rachel was. "I'm glad that we're alone. I want to ask you something..."

***

"What? She asked him to the Harvest Ball? I was going to ask Harry to the Harvest Ball! She knew that! Ron, she stole my boyfriend!" Rachel spewed at Ron, who backed away defensively.

"Well, I think you're being a bit hasty." Ron began. "Did Harry actually ask you to the dance?"

Rachel glared at him. "You're not helping." she stated flatly.

"I'm just trying to see things from all sides. It seems to me that Hermione really likes Harry. Maybe she didn't know that you liked him? Or that he liked you, for that matter. Oh, yeah, he really likes you... but I'm not supposed to tell." Ron flushed a little, he wasn't used to sharing his friend's secrets.

Jill joined the conversation. "Not know? How could she have not known? I mean the whole country of Russia probably knows that Rachel likes Harry. And I'm sure the whole continent of Europe knows that Harry likes Rachel. I'm not being biased because you're my friend, Rach, but Hermione was on your turf." She finished her speech and sat down. 

"Wait a minute!" Ron said, raising his hand in the air above their heads. "Do we actually know what he said? We shouldn't flip out until we know if Harry said yes, or no." He looked at the two girls. "All right, I'll ask," he strolled over to where Harry was throwing some sort of curse at Hermione. "So," he began, casually, "What'd you say?"

Harry turned away from Hermione and gave Ron a pained look. "I didn't have a choice, I had to say yes." Ron gave him a skeptical look. "Rachel's gonna kill me." Harry added, not sure whether it was to Ron, or himself. Ron nodded in agreement.

***

"What'd he say?" Rachel pleaded when Ron returned from talking with Harry.

"He said..." Ron bit his lower lip with concern "Yes."

"What?" Rachel half shouted to Ron. "How could he do that to me?"

"He didn't do anything to you. He's just going to one little dance with Hermione. It's not the end of the world. They're just friends, that's all." Ron was getting a little irritated. Being a mediator was not easy.

"I hope Hermione wasn't hoping that I'd still be _her_ friend." Rachel turned around and headed for the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see Madame Pomfrey."

"Wait!" Jill called, but it was to no avail. Rachel had already walked out the door. Hermione and Harry were walking towards Jill and Ron.

"Where did Rachel go?" Harry asked, concern filling his voice. He hoped that Rachel wouldn't take this too hard.

"To the nurse. She has a headache because of some news she just learned." Jill said, glaring at Hermione.

Hermione shrank back under the harsh gaze. "Maybe I ought to talk to her." She said shakily, looking from friend to friend.

"Maybe." Jill replied in an icy tone as Hermione dashed down the hall behind Rachel.

***

Rachel sat in one of the oversized wing chairs that furnished the hospital wing. A cup of hot chocolate was cooling on the bedside cabinets in front of her. Madame Pomfrey bustled over and took Rachel's temperature again.

"You don't have a fever." She told the girl.

"I know... I just have a horrible headache." Rachel replied, glumly. She wasn't exactly ill, but she was angry. Hermione never behaved like that, in fact, Hermione was the complete opposite. Why would she suddenly change?

Madame Pomfrey nodded. "You can stay in here for five minutes, then you have to go to lunch." The nurse left the room.

Hermione burst through the hospital wing door, panting. "I am _so _out of shape." She gasped between jagged breaths. "I ran all the way down here after you. You are so fast!" She flopped into the chair across from Rachel's, still catching her breath."

"Oh, you ran? Don't serpents usually slither?" Rachel glared at Hermione and took a sip of her cocoa.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something sarcastic, and then thought better of it. "Listen, Rach. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I had every right to ask Harry to the Harvest Ball, and you know it."

Rachel looked at her, sadly. "Of course you had the right, but you should have had the sense to know that he was spoken for."

Hermione looked at Rachel with disbelief. " 'Spoken for'. Are you crazy? You could have asked him any time, and vice versa. When no one did the asking, I just helped myself. There's nothing wrong with that."

Rachel knew she was beat, but wasn't about to give in so easily. "You knew I liked him, and I was kind enough to help you find a date. Why did you turn on me?"

"I didn't 'turn on you'. I just realized that I really liked Harry and that this could be my only chance to show him before you snatch him away." Hermione bit her lower lip nervously. "Come on, Rach. A girl can dream."

"What do you mean you just realized you liked Harry? Krum just dumped you and you were desperate. It's as simple as that." Rachel's voice was strained. She stood up to go but Hermione pulled her arm.

"Harry's my friend, Rachel. You have to realize that. You also have to realize that he did say yes. Maybe it was just because he didn't want me to feel bad, but he still said yes." 

Rachel glared at Hermione and ran out of the infirmary.

 "I'm sorry!" Hermione called after her. "Really, I am."

***

Harry caught up with Rachel in the hall. "Hey," he said cautiously, "Are you okay?"

She shrugged him off with a glare. "No, I'm not okay. With all due respect, what made you think that I could be?"

"Listen, I know you're mad, but you should at least listen to my side of the story!" Harry pleaded with her.

Rachel complied, with a curt courtesy. "Fine, you've got thirty seconds, shoot."

Harry gaped at her in astonishment and then began his thirty seconds before they were up. "Hermione and I have been friends for five years. We help each other out during the tough times. Krum just dumped her, and whether or not your realize it, that had a big impact on her. I know that she thinks she likes me, but she doesn't. She's just rebounding from Krum. We're going to the dance as friends and I hope that you can accept that." Harry blushed. "I know you're disappointed, but that's the way it has to be."

Rachel nodded. "I understand your side, but it _hurts_. She went behind my back and took the one person who I've ever really liked, and that person went right along with her. I know that denying her the chance to go to the dance with you would ruin many friendships, not just one, but I wish she had at least talked to me about it. See you later." Rachel walked towards the Gryffindor common room and said to the portrait of the Fat Lady, "Tangle woods"

Hermione was waiting in one of the armchairs when Rachel entered the common room. "Listen, Rach, I really think that we should talk. I feel horrible about what I did to you. I don't regret asking Harry to the dance, but I feel terrible about not talking to you about it first." 

Rachel sat in the chair across from Hermione. "Fine, I'll listen, but this had better be worth it." She leaned back and waited for Hermione to start talking.

"I have a plan that will enable you to go to the dance with Harry and make everything so that he doesn't even know that I asked him." Hermione looked hopefully at Rachel.

"Let's hear it. I'm interested to see how you think that you can turn back the clock." Rachel glared at the other girl, there was no way that Hermione could possibly make this up to her. It would be nearly impossible.

"I have a way to turn back the clock, sort of." Hermione took a small package out of her robes and slowly unwrapped it. Rachel gasped in astonishment when she saw what it was. 

"A Time-Turner!"

***


End file.
